It is a good thing that Doug Barron is not paying me for legal advice! I told you that I thought the court would grant his application for a temporary restraining order to permit him to play in the second round of the PGA Qualifying School tournament in order to maintain the status quo while the case was heard on its merits. I was wrong!
The general standard for granting or denying a temporary restraining order involves consideration of whether: (i) there is a reasonable probability that the plaintiff (Barron) will prevail on the merits; (ii) irreparable harm will be sustained by the plaintiff (Barron) unless a temporary restraining order is issued; and (iii) the issuance of a temporary restraining order will result in disproportionate harm to the defendant (PGA Tour). The court ruled that although Barron made a strong case that irreparable harm will be sustained by prohibiting him from competing in the PGA Qualifying School tournament, he did not prove to the court that there was a reasonable probability that he would prevail on the merits of his claim against the PGA Tour. Also, the court held that Barron's participation in the PGA Qualifying School tournament "could raise substantial public policy concerns regarding the enforcement of anti-doping policies in professional sports," which may go to the third prong of the test for a temporary restraining order.
Losing the motion for a temporary restraining order does not necessarily end Barron's case, but even if Barron is ultimately successful on the merits he will have limited ability to play PGA Tour events in 2010 because he was unable to participate in the Q-School tournament. He would most likely be limited to sponsor exemptions, which are very difficult to obtain.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment