In 2007, Jack Nicklaus sold his entire stake in Nicklaus Companies LLC to Howard Milstein, a New York banker, who took full control of the company, including the course design business, which was and is its core business.
Jack remained tied to the company on the basis of a consulting contract until 2017 when, due to the now bad relationship with Milstein, he was terminated.
The terminated contract included a “parachute” clause, which established a non-compete period of five years, during which Jack continued to work on behalf of his former company.
At the end of this period, the Golden Bear founded 1-JN, a new company under which to carry out the design activity.
Jack Nicklaus, suit
Milstein obviously did not appreciate the initiative, and tried to prevent from using his name and image in the context of the activity he carried out through 1-JN.
The first step in this dispute was arbitration, which in 2024 ended in favor of Nicklaus, where the arbitrator ruled that Jack was free to engage in new activities, which were previously limited by the terms of the contract, in competition with the company that bears his name.
Milstein was clearly not satisfied, and decided to continue his legal battle in court.
But things didn’t go any better for him.
Yesterday, the Civil Division of the Supreme Court of New York, in the person of Judge Joel M. Cohen, issued a ruling once again in favor of Nicklaus, fully confirming the decisions resulting from the arbitration.
The Judge clarified that both parties, Jack himself and Nicklaus Companies LLC, have the right to use the Golden Bear’s name and image.
It would seem that the end has been written under this story, but that is not the case.
Jack has announced that he has filed a defamation lawsuit against Howard Milstein, guilty, according to him, of having declared that the six-time Masters Champion would have (hear, hear…) tried to reach an agreement with LIV Golf to obtain a role in it, something that he firmly denies.
And, since one thing leads to another, Milstein’s lawyers have announced that they will appeal the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Tennis World USA