BOSTON (CN) - A man who scouted numerous baseball prospects, including the Yankees 2015 first-round draft pick, claims in court the sports agencies for whom he worked deprived him of significant commissions.
In a lawsuit filed in the Suffolk Superior Court in Mass., Robert Kruse says he actively scouted numerous collegiate baseball players across New England n behalf of the Boston Sports Counsel, which represents professional athletes.
Among those he personally was engaged in scouting was Kyle Holder, a short stop, who reportedly who reportedly received a $1.8 million signing bonus from the New York Yankees after being selected in the 2015 Major League Baseball draft.
The complaint does not indicate whether Holder actually signed with Boston Sports Counsel, but many of the other players Kruse scouted, including 4th-round pick Zack Erwin and 10th-rounder Jake Drossner did sign representation contracts with the firm.
Kruse says that under the terms of his contract with Boston Sports Counsel, he was entitled to a portion of the fees collected from the players, equivalent to 1 percent of the total amount of signing bonuses, which Kruse estimates is in excess of $2 million.
But instead of paying Kruse, once the fees were collected, Boston Sports Counsel informed that the plaintiff that there was no money left over to pay him, the complaint says.
Kruse claims that the Boston Sports Counsel knew that it would be in violation of state law if they paid him, but failed to share that fact.
The Massachusetts Professional Conduct Rule 5.4 states that "a lawyer or law firm shall not share legal fees with a nonlawyer."
Kruse seeks unspecified treble damages on claims of breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and misrepresentation.
He is represented by Christopher Brown of Brown & Rosen in Boston.
Representatives of Boston Sports Counsel could not immediately be reached for comment.
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