Home Economy Government U.S. Sailing settles lawsuit against 3 former members, America One Racing

U.S. Sailing settles lawsuit against 3 former members, America One Racing

By

PBN Staff

-

05/23/2024

Olympic Sailing Spat — SAILOR PAUL Cayard, of the United States, is interviewed by The Associated Press on the sidelines of a conference on the preservation of oceans, in Milan, Italy. U.S. Sailing, the sport's governing body, announced on Wednesday it has settled its federal lawsuit against veteran sailor and executive Paul Cayard and the America One Racing foundation. / ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO / ANTONIO CALANNI

PROVIDENCE – The U.S. Sailing Association, the sport’s national governing body, has settled its federal lawsuit against three former members and America One Racing for allegedly stealing trade secrets and breaches of contracts. Specifics of the settlement were not released, The Associated Press reported Wednesday. America One Racing said in a statement that no money

Already a Subscriber? Log in

To Continue Reading This Article

Become a Providence Business News subscriber and get immediate access to all of our premier content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

Critical RI business news and analysis updated daily.
1 year of print (26 issues).
Unlimited access to all subscriber only content on our website, on any device.
Free email alerts.
Annual Book of Lists Print Edition.
All special issues produced during subscription term.

Click Here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article

PBN Branded Content

Building a Stronger Heart: Inside South County Health’s Cardiopulmonary Rehab Program

A Heart-Healthy Start to the Year February is American Heart Month—a time to raise awareness…

Learn More

No posts to display

LEAVE A REPLY Cancel reply

PROVIDENCE – The U.S. Sailing Association, the sport’s national governing body, has settled its federal lawsuit against three former members and America One Racing for allegedly stealing trade secrets and breaches of contracts. Specifics of the settlement were not released, The Associated Press reported Wednesday. America One Racing said in a statement that no money changed hands, both parties agreed to release all claims and established a mutual nondisparagement agreement. In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court on Jan. 16, the Bristol-based U.S. Sailing Association accused American yachtsmen Paul Cayard, William Ruh and Jose Spina and AmericaOne of harming both the governing body and U.S. sailing team. The three men left U.S. Sailing in February 2023. Cayard resigned as U.S. Sailing’s executive director for U.S. Olympic Sailing and shortly after Ruh resigned as the director of U.S. Sailing and Spina resigned as the association’s performance director. The complaint claimed Cayard and Ruh became members of Berkley, Calif.-based America One’s board of directors and Spina becoming the company’s performance director. The lawsuit also accused America One of breaching a contract to fund a project with U.S. Sailing to develop young athletes for Olympic-level competition. U.S. Sailing launched Project Pipeline in 2015 with a $5 million gift from the AmericaOne Foundation. U.S. Sailing claimed that under a written contract, America One was obligated to pay the pledged $5 million over a 10-year period in annual installments. According to the complaint, on March 1, 2023, America One notified U.S. Sailing that it would no longer be making installment payments under the agreement, citing a “lack of confidence” in U.S. Sailing’s ability make the Pipeline Project successful. The lawsuit claimed Cayard and Ruh induced America One to breach its commitment to fund the Pipeline Project. U.S. Sailing also alleges it suffered more than $4 million in losses due to Cayard, Ruh and America One interfering with U.S. Sailing’s business relationships with its donors and sponsors. U.S. Sailing also accused America One of misappropriating trade secrets and unfair competition, asserting the three men are liable for the theft and misuse of U.S. Sailing’s trade secrets and confidential information to enhance their business while “willfully and maliciously” harming US Sailing’s business and reputation. The complaint asserted claims for defamation and false light against Cayard, Ruh and AmericaOne for making false, fictitious and disparaging statements about U.S. Sailing as part of a “larger misinformation campaign” aimed at securing AmericaOne’s leadership of Olympic-level sailing in the U.S. U.S. Sailing sought to prevent the defendants from using the plaintiff’s proprietary information. It also claimed it had suffered in excess of $5 million in actual damages as a result of the defendants’ conduct. Lawrence G. Finch, chairman of the America One Foundation, said in January that U.S. Sailing’s claims were meritless, adding that his company provided more than $6 million to U.S. Sailing and other sailors over the past 15 years. In an embarrassment on the English Channel in 2012, the United States failed to win an Olympic sailing medal for the first time since the 1936 Berlin Games. San Diego’s Caleb Paine won a bronze medal in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, but the Americans were shut out again three summers ago in Tokyo and have been overtaken by Britain on the sailing medals table. Some of the biggest names in sailing won Olympic medals for the United States. They include the late sailmaker Lowell North; the late Buddy Melges, who co-helmed the 1992 America’s Cup winner with industrialist Bill Koch; sailmaker Mark Reynolds; and even Mr. America’s Cup himself, Dennis Conner. (Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.)