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Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball and his parents, LaVar and Tina Ball, are being sued for more than $200 million by Big Baller Brand co-founder Alan Foster, who accuses them of trademark infringement, fraud, unfair business practices and more.
In a separate case, Foster is also suing LaMelo Ball’s older brother, Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball, for malicious prosecution, intentional interference with contractual relations and unjust enrichment. He is seeking more than $600,000 in legal costs in addition to damages, which could amount to millions more.
The two lawsuits, filed less than two months apart, are unrelated in a legal sense but both reflect the deterioration of a once-close relationship between Foster and the Ball family, which is from Chino Hills.
Last week, Foster filed a federal lawsuit in Los Angeles on Monday that named LaVar, Tina and LaMelo Ball among the co-defendants. The filing describes “a very coordinated effort on behalf of the Defendants to do one thing — prevent Alan from having any interest in the family companies of the Ball Family and the money they generate.
Other co-defendants in that case include the apparel company Puma, which has a shoe deal with LaMelo Ball; LaMelo Ball’s MB1 Enterprises LLC; and LaVar Ball’s Big Baller Brand Inc. A total of 12 causes of action are being brought against some or all of the defendants.
The lawsuit states Foster likely has suffered damages in excess of $200 million. Foster’s attorney, Raymond Brenneman, told The Times on Friday that the dollar figure represented an “estimate of all the merchandise by Puma and Big Baller Brand that utilized trademarks owned by Alan Foster.”
Puma told The Times via email it has no comment on the lawsuit. Attempts to reach the other defendants were unsuccessful.
Foster became close with the Ball family — which also includes middle son LiAngelo Ball, who is not named as a co-defendant in either lawsuit — more than a decade ago.
According to Monday’s filing, Foster helped LaVar and Tina Ball start several of the family’s companies and still owns a 33% interest in all of them, including the assets of the now-dissolved company, Big Baller Brand LLC. Those assets include trademarks involving LaMelo Ball, the Big Baller Brand and Lonzo Ball, the lawsuit states.
