Arbitration – Arbitration Clause – AFLPA Regulations Governing Contract Advisors

The Alliance Agreement’s arbitration clause is valid and enforceable and the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) has no jurisdiction to arbitrate the underlying dispute.

We affirmed the trial court’s order.

This appeal arose out of an “Alliance Agreement” between Plaintiff, Premier Athlete Advisors LLC, and Defendant, EnterSports MGT LLC, to combine their sports management businesses to create a comprehensive football sports agency. EnterSports appealed from the trial court’s order concluding that the parties’ Agreement contains a valid arbitration clause requiring private arbitration and that the NFLPA does not have jurisdiction to arbitrate the underlying dispute.

The parties did not dispute that the Agreement contains an arbitration clause requiring the dispute between them to be arbitrated. The scope of the arbitration clause in the Agreement is broad and unambiguous; it encompasses “any Dispute for any reason” between Premier and EnterSports and defines a “Dispute” as “any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement, or the breach, termination or invalidity hereof[.]” The underlying dispute is a contract dispute; Premier and EnterSports engaged in a shared business venture pursuant to a written agreement. Premier terminated the Agreement and sued EnterSports for breach of contract and unjust enrichment for EnterSports’ alleged failure to abide by the terms of the Agreement. The Agreement further provides that arbitration shall occur in either Atlanta, Georgia or Charlotte, North Carolina, with the location to be chosen by “[t]he bringer of the Dispute.” As the party who filed the complaint, Premier selected Charlotte, North Carolina as the location for arbitration. Therefore, the parties “had a valid agreement to arbitrate,” and the underlying dispute falls within the substantive scope of that agreement. Because the Agreement’s terms are clear and unambiguous, the trial court did not err by concluding that the Agreement’s arbitration clause is valid and enforceable, that the arbitration clause covers the underlying dispute, and that Charlotte, North Carolina is the proper arbitration venue.

EnterSports argued that, regardless of the validity and applicability of the Agreement’s arbitration clause, the NFLPA has jurisdiction over the parties’ dispute. Specifically, EnterSports contended that “[t]he NFLPA Regulations are clear that they govern NFLPA-certified agents/contract advisors with respect to the handling of intra-agent disputes over sharing fees.” While this may be true, it does not support EnterSports’ position that the NFLPA has jurisdiction over the particular dispute before us. As a result, the trial court did not err by concluding that the NFLPA is without jurisdiction to arbitrate the underlying dispute.

Affirmed.

Premier Athlete Advisors LLC v. EnterSports Mgt LLC (Lawyers’ Weekly No. 011-267-25, 17 pp.) (Allegra Collins, J.) Appealed from Mecklenburg County Superior Court (Hugh B. Lewis, J.) Morrow, Porter, Vermitsky and Taylor, PLLC, by John C. Vermitsky, for Plaintiff-Appellee. Rosenwood, Rose & Litwak, PLLC, by Ross J. Bromberger, for Defendant-Appellant. North Carolina Court of Appeals