A businessman who claims LeBron James cost him millions of dollars when he backed out of a deal to do a biographical documentary squared off against the basketball star as a $15 million civil trial began on Tuesday.

Entertainment producer Joseph Marsh is suing James, who went from Akron's St. Vincent-St. Mary High School to become rookie of the year for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Marsh claims James broke a contract.

In opening statements Tuesday afternoon, lawyer Matt Hiscock said Marsh and his company could have expected a profit of $5.75 million from a James documentary even after a 50-50 split with James and his family.

But James' attorney Fred Nance countered in his opening statement that James never authorized a documentary about him. He called the lawsuit "a case of legal posturing and an unwarranted attempt to take advantage of LeBron James."