David Beckham Sued Fitness Brand F45 in 2023, and It’s Suddenly News
Mr. Beckham refiled his suit in March, 2023, but as such things go, everybody is covering the case now, although nobody is linking to any filings from the case, so I neither really know what is going on nor why the media are suddenly interested in the “breaking news” of a case that is already one-year into its existence. I wonder if some publicist for one of the parties decided that some media attention might speed up the settlement process.
The essence of the case seems to be that Mr. Beckham did promotional work for the brand beginning in 2020 in exchange for “tradable shares” of the company when it went public, which was supposed to happen in July 2021. The share price quickly tanked after the company’s initial public offering in January 2022, and Mr. Beckham alleges that the company delayed delivery of his shares. During the delay, Mr. Beckham alleges, the value of his shares dropped by $9.3 million. He also alleges entitlement to another $5 million in shares that were supposed to be transferred to him in July 2022.
The current valuation of the company appears to be about the same as what Mr. Beckham claims he is owed. But he is not the only party suing the company, so there may not be much left for Mr. Beckham at the end of the day.
Mr. Beckham is no stranger to the world of contracts disputes. In December 2022, we blogged about his agreement to help promote the World Cup in Qatar. Apparently, that deal worked out pretty well, although Mr. Beckham was paid bucketloads of money and did relatively little to promote the World Cup, unless being vilified by his LGBTQ+ fans counts as fulfillment of contractual obligations.