Agent defection lawsuits settled

By Eriq Gardner

EXCLUSIVE: A settlement has been reached in the Matthew Baldwin agent defection case.

Baldwin's move from to IMG to CAA in early April triggered two lawsuits in a nasty brouhaha that promised to shed light on how freely agents could defect from one agency to another. Baldwin had a non-compete clause in his IMG contract but moved from Minneapolis to California to work at CAA and argued that the latter state's unique statutory protections limiting enforcement of these non-compete clauses voided his deal with IMG. In August, a Ohio judge made an important ruling that stayed IMG's lawsuit against Baldwin until a California judge could weigh in.

Now, on the eve of an expected California decision on whether to dismiss the case and transfer venue, IMG and Baldwin (who has since left CAA) have withdrawn their respective claims against each other with prejudice.

An attorney for IMG confirms the two parties have reached a settlement. 

Although full details of the agreement aren't known, IMG's lawyer, Mark Holscher at Kirkland and Ellis, says that IMG "would never pay him a penny and he's still bound by his employment agreement."

A rep for Baldwin couldn't be reached.