New Jersey boxer sued for breach of contract

A New Jersey boxer known as “The Celtic Warrior” is in the middle of a high-stakes fight, this time in a courtroom instead of a boxing ring. Former International Boxing Association cruiserweight champ Robert Gunn, who fights under the name Bobby Gunn, is being sued for breach of contract.

The plaintiff in the lawsuit is a New York City boxing gym owner who claims the 38-year-old boxer violated an endorsement deal the two set up in 2007. According to the lawsuit, the gym owner loaned the boxer $8,000. Under the terms of the loan, the owner says, the money was to be repaid within two months with 10 percent interest. In addition, the two signed an agreement under which Gun would become affiliated with the gym by using it for training and putting patches of the gym’s logo on his fighting attire, according to the lawsuit. The agreement also called for the boxing owner to serve as Gunn’s financial adviser, a position that entitled him to 10 percent of the winnings from the boxer’s next three championship fights, the owner said. The contract allegedly guaranteed the owner a minimum of $50,000.

The owner’s breach of contract lawsuit, which seeks damages of $58,000, alleges that Gunn never repaid the loan, nor did he give the gym owner any part of his championship winnings.

But Gunn’s attorney insists that her client had no such agreement with the gym owner, and that any claims of a contract are both meritless and frivolous. At the time of her statement earlier this month, she said she hadn’t seen the lawsuit and her client hadn’t been served with legal papers. Not only was there no signed agreement, she said, but there existed no verbal agreement, either.

Contract disputes like these are far from uncommon, but they can be damaging. They can take time and money away from your business, and if they make the news, they carry a risk of bad publicity. To prevent these problems, you’ll want to find an attorney with a long history of successfully handling contract disputes. The more quickly it’s resolved, the faster you can get back to business — whether it’s in a boardroom or a boxing ring.

Source: NorthJersey.com, “Rochelle Park boxer Bobby Gunn sued by gym owner,” Chris Harris and Abbott Koloff, July 6, 2012

· Our firm handles a wide variety of contract disputes. If you would like to learn more about our practice, please visit our New Jersey breach of contract page.