Photo Credit: Mick Haupt
The Major League Baseball Players Association filed an agreement this week to dismiss the lawsuit against Bad Bunny’s Rimas sports agency.
Bad Bunny’s sports firm, Rimas Sports, and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) filed an agreement on Thursday (March 13) to dismiss the latter’s lawsuit against the former over improperly made inducements. Both sides submitted a stipulation to US District Judge Jennifer H. Rearden in Manhattan that the matter had been settled.
The issue stemmed from the MLBPA accusing Rimas of giving out cash and concert tickets to players, in violation of union rules. As a result, several Rimas employees were sanctioned last year.
Rimas Sports, the agency co-owned by Puerto Rican native Bad Bunny, was disciplined by the MLBPA last spring over violations of its agent regulations. William Arroyo’s agent certification was revoked, and the association denied certifications of executives Noah Assad and Jonathan Miranda over a $200,000 “interest-free loan” and a $19,500 gift. Rimas was issued a $400,000 fine for misconduct.
Last October, arbitrator Ruth M. Moscovitch upheld the MLBPA’s five-year suspensions of Assad and Miranda, and cut Arroyo’s suspension down to three years. The union filed a petition to confirm the decision in the New York Supreme Court, and the case was moved to federal court.
Over the summer, the MLBPA asked a federal judge in Puerto Rico to hold Rimas Sports in contempt for defying a court order issued the week prior to follow union rules. Rimas had requested arbitration in Puerto Rico, which the union asserted was the wrong venue.
The MLBPA says Rimas should have made a request through the MLBPA, instead of requesting a hearing from the American Arbitration Association. The MLBPA is based in New York; therefore, they said arbitration should take place there, and the court should order Rimas to cover its attorney fees over the improper filing.
Ultimately, the two sides came to an agreement, though the nature of that agreement remains unknown to the public.
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