Naomi Osaka gets sued by former tennis coach

C

Cecilia

Rookie
The tennis coach who began working with Naomi Osaka back when she was 13 claims her father signed a contract promising him 20% of her career earnings ... and now he's coming to collect.

The man behind the lawsuit is Christophe Jean -- who says Naomi's father, Leonard Francois, hired him to work with Naomi and his other daughter, Mari, back in 2011.

Jean says Francois couldn't pay his rates at the time, so they struck a deal in which Jean agreed to accept 20% of Naomi and Mari's tennis prize money and endorsement deals forever.

That's not a typo ... Jean says he has a copy of the contract where Francois agrees that the term of the deal is "indefinite." It's included in Jean's suit, filed in state court in Florida.

Source: http://m.tmz.com/#!2019/03/18/naomi-osaka-lawsuit-tennis-coach/
 
Welp, that's what you get signing contracts without thinking things through. Over here they say: "He who says A, must say B as well"
 
Holdfast44ID said:
So, someone can have parent sign a contract for a MINOR such that said minor becomes an indentured servant in adulthood? What a deal.

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My automatic thoughts also. I doubt the guy has a leg to stand on, unless there is more to the story we aren't hearing
 
Christopher Jean looking to get paid, Sascha Bajin is next! Where's the money Honey! If this is true with this Christopher guy, bad move on Leonard for making such a deal.
 
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There's no way it's enforceable, but it's a really bad look for Papa Osaka*. At the very least they should be trying to compensate the people who worked for free.



*I know his name isn't Osaka.
 
EloQuent said:
There's no way it's enforceable, but it's a really bad look for Papa Osaka*. At the very least they should be trying to compensate the people who worked for free.



*I know his name isn't Osaka.
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Even if the contract is unenforceable (assuming dad did sign some sort of agreement) the court will figure out a reasonable compensation for the time spent by the coach working for the Osaka's and award him that. If not, the Osaka's would be unjustly enriched, invalid contract or not, the court does not like that.
 
norcal said:
Even if the contract is unenforceable (assuming dad did sign some sort of agreement) the court will figure out a reasonable compensation for the time spent by the coach working for the Osaka's and award him that. If not, the Osaka's would be unjustly enriched, invalid contract or not, the court does not like that.
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I highly doubt a court would award for unjust enrichment without reliance. This would enable anyone who ever did a favor for a future celebrity to sue them.
 
EloQuent said:
I highly doubt a court would award for unjust enrichment without reliance. This would enable anyone who ever did a favor for a future celebrity to sue them.
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I was assuming there was a signed agreement and the coach worked for the family.

Obviously if he is doing them a favor there is no signed agreement for compensation. Likewise, if the coach did no work he is not entitled to compensation.
 
Tennis_Hands said:
The coach should be compensated at least for his work when the girls were coached by him without/ with lowered fees.

In fact, they should have offered it to him by now. It is the decent thing to do (and the same goes for all other coaches that did the same for them).

:cool:
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He should be. But that's not how they roll. Out come the lawyers.
 
Also the lawyer named is a real hotshot. Harvard Law, partner at a major NY firm. They didn't just lawyer up, they lawyered up good.
 
Sounds like Naomi's dad plays fast and loose when it comes to coaching deals. If I were Naomi I would cut him out of the manager or "handler" role asap so that more coaching snafus don't happen as she is a very visible player-celebrity now.
 
Cecilia said:
The tennis coach who began working with Naomi Osaka back when she was 13 claims her father signed a contract promising him 20% of her career earnings ... and now he's coming to collect.

The man behind the lawsuit is Christophe Jean -- who says Naomi's father, Leonard Francois, hired him to work with Naomi and his other daughter, Mari, back in 2011.

Jean says Francois couldn't pay his rates at the time, so they struck a deal in which Jean agreed to accept 20% of Naomi and Mari's tennis prize money and endorsement deals forever.

That's not a typo ... Jean says he has a copy of the contract where Francois agrees that the term of the deal is "indefinite." It's included in Jean's suit, filed in state court in Florida.

Source: http://m.tmz.com/#!2019/03/18/naomi-osaka-lawsuit-tennis-coach/
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LOL, I am sure they will have to reach some kind of deal. Pay him off, Naomi can afford it. I am not sure if it is Naomi that is cheap or her dad ???? Which is it ?
 
Tennis_Hands said:
The coach should be compensated at least for his work when the girls were coached by him without/ with lowered fees.

In fact, they should have offered it to him by now. It is the decent thing to do (and the same goes for all other coaches that did the same for them).

:cool:
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(y)(y)

Yes, it’s kind of lame the coach who believed in the student enough to work for future and potential compensation doesn’t get to be part of her success :rolleyes::rolleyes: The odds on a player becoming pro in tennis to the point of actually making an earning career from it are very slim :whistle::whistle: that coach ought to have gotten something for his lifetime of investment also (y)(y)

Who knows the actual details and inside story :unsure::unsure:
 
Gee it's all go on the WTA isn't it. Drama everywhere

I should follow them more. I love drama :laughing:
 
They should roll like Donald Trump and tell the coach he can use the "I coached Naomi Osaka" in his advertising for free. That's adequate compensation right?
 
My friend has a contract promising 93% or all future earnings for tutoring a 6 year old in math.

He worked with the kid from age 6 - 13, helping to build a solid foundation in math.

The kid just graduated from private University of Feenixs last year and is now working as a casier at McDonald’s.

Cha-ching$$$$
 
The old coaches should be compensated for their time and facilities now that Naomi is rich. Like @Tennis_Hands pointed out, this should have been done by the Osaka family already.

Given the Osaka family are building schools in Haiti and giving back , I am sure they don't have an issue paying up for what any other kid who took coaching paid.

I am guessing some of these old coaches want a percentage of the prize money Osaka is winning ? LOL
 
Good luck with enforcement. First off, such contracts are voided when the child turns 18 from the perspective of the child. The father could theoretically be on the hook despite not being directly paid by Osaka but he could easily declare bankruptcy in such a scenario.

Oh and it would only be even look at within the United States.
 
Bukowski said:
From what I understand that's rampant on the WTA. I hit with Giorgi when she passed through for a tournament years ago and her dad swindled a few coaches in town. They never got their money back.
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I've heard that they swindled a lot of people that invested in her career early on...left a lot of people out of money they were supposed to get back.

What was it like hitting with her? Winner, error, winner, error...repeat?
 
Shaolin said:
I've heard that they swindled a lot of people that invested in her career early on...left a lot of people out of money they were supposed to get back.

What was it like hitting with her? Winner, error, error, winner, error...repeat?
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She hit the ball unbelievably hard and flat. I had an aggressive game style but couldnt handle it.
Did not miss like you might expect.
We played a practice set, and instead of giving her the best preparation possible for the tournament I chose to stimulate my ego and win by junkballing.
She lost 1st round.
Very pretty girl. Shy. No english. Conducted herself professionally.
Her dad smoked cigarettes the entire time each practice.
 
Bukowski said:
She hit the ball unbelievably hard and flat. I had an aggressive game style but couldnt handle it.
Did not miss like you might expect.
We played a practice set, and instead of giving her the best preparation possible for the tournament I chose to stimulate my ego and win by junkballing.
She lost 1st round.
Very pretty girl. Shy. No english. Conducted herself professionally.
Her dad smoked cigarettes the entire time each practice.
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I like how she hits...really crushes the ball. Well done on the practice set...sounds like you played some Santoro type stuff she had never seen (y)
 
Quite an interesting situation. I wonder what the coach's relationship to Naomi's dad was when they first made the agreement and whether that impacted the formality of the agreement when made.

I wonder how many people have inspected the original document for veracity?

The recent Osaka approach to coaches is that they are to be used short-term and once their knowledge has reached a certain lifespan the player continues without them so it is unusual that the father would agree to such a longterm commitment.
 
Bukowski said:
From what I understand that's rampant on the WTA. I hit with Giorgi when she passed through for a tournament years ago and her dad swindled a few coaches in town. They never got their money back.
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Interesting. I read about this story, fascinating that you were involved. I wonder how much this goes on? Any other big names have a similar shady past? (You don't have to name them if you don't want).

Also, why do the coaches agree to this? They hope they'll get paid eventually?
 
Good thing she is Japanese, not American! I am guessing all her money and property is in Japan, since she is Japanese.
 
beltsman said:
Good thing she is Japanese, not American! I am guessing all her money and property is in Japan, since she is Japanese.
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A lot of her money comes from Japanese endorsements - cup noodle for eg.

Also eventually her Dad got the Japanese to pay for her training. Wonder if reporters are going to look into that eventually....
 
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