San Francisco:
A lawsuit filed by a group of caddies against the US PGA Tour for alleged mistreatment has been thrown out by a US District Court judge.
A group that grew to 168 caddies filed the lawsuit last February in San Francisco, claiming they are walking billboards—forced to wear bibs with sponsor logos without any proceeds from sponsor contracts that were estimated at $50 million a year.
But in a Tuesday ruling, according to the network, judge Vince Chhabria found “the caddies’ overall complaint about poor treatment by the tour has merit but this federal lawsuit about bibs does not.”
“Caddies have been required to wear the bibs for decades, so caddies know when they enter the profession that wearing a bib during tournaments is part of the job,” Chhabria wrote.
“For that reason, there is no merit to the caddies’ contention that contracts somehow prevent the tour from requiring them to wear bibs.”
Chhabria also tossed out caddies’ claims of anti-trust and trademark violations and the notion their contracts with the tour were signed under duress.
In a statement, the PGA Tour said they were happy with the ruling.
“We are aware of the ruling made in our favor regarding the lawsuit filed last year by caddies and are pleased by the court’s decision,” the statement said.
“We look forward to putting this matter behind us and moving forward in a positive direction with the caddies.”
