Independent Sports & Entertainment (ISE) has filed suit against Dan Fegan to prevent him from trying to poach ISE clients, agents and employees now that he is no longer with the company.
ISE alleges that it felt compelled to file the lawsuit, because terminating Fegan for cause as a result of his misconduct was not sufficient to undo the damage he has caused the company.
"Fegan has repeatedly taken action to unfairly compete with ISE, to poison ISE's business by attempting to turn its own employees against it, and to freeze out executives from asserting their supervisorial authority," states the Complaint. "Fegan has carried out this scheme to put his own personal business interests above that of ISE with the goal of capitalizing on his disloyalty by attempting to take from ISE the very business he sold to it in 2013."
Fegan allegedly owned and operated a side business called Fegan Sports that kept employees, prospective clients and other business interests away from ISE. One "high profile" unnamed NBA player allegedly signed with Fegan Sports instead of ISE during Fegan's employment term, which would be a breach of Fegan's fiduciary duties to his employer.
ISE launched on June 20, 2016 after closing on an investment from billionaire Ron Burkle, who previously promised $30 million in Relativity Sports, before it was re-branded to ISE.
ISE has temporarily replaced Fegan with Chief Marketing Officer Chris Grancio, who will assume the role of interim president of ISE Basketball.
“ISE’s announcement today was a big surprise, especially given that ISE offered me a long term lucrative contract just yesterday - which I rejected for several reasons, including my opposition to the current senior management structure,” Fegan said in a statement sent to SB Nation. “It is also surprising to hear through the media that ISE is planning to file a breach of contract lawsuit against me. Apparently, ISE is afraid that many of the agents and clients will want to follow me, and is doing everything in its power to prevent it. I am confident in my position and if a suit is filed I will fight vigorously to prove that ISE’s actions are wrong and misguided.”