… John Lounsbury initiated an action against Camby and ProServ, Inc. (“ProServ”). Lounsbury alleges that, while a student at the University of Massachusetts and a member of its basketball team, Camby promised that he would sign an exclusive agency contract with [Lounsbury] when he ended his collegiate career if Lounsbury provided Camby, his friends and family with money, gifts, gratuities and services. At the time of the alleged agreement, Lounsbury was not a certified agent and therefore was not authorized, in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement between the Players Association and the National Basketball Association (NBA), to represent Camby in contract negotiations with any NBA team. In 1996 Camby signed an exclusive agency contract with ProServ to represent him in contract negotiations with the NBA team that drafted Camby … Lounsbury alleges that Camby breached his oral contract with him by signing with ProServ and that ProServ tortuously interfered with his agreement with Camby.
ProServ states that Lounsbury is basing his action … on conduct that violates Connecticut civil and criminal law with respect to prohibited acts of athlete agents. In Connecticut General Statutes § 20-555, Prohibited Acts are defined as:
An [athlete-agent] shall not:
Publish or cause to be published any false, fraudulent or misleading information, representation, notice or advertisement or give any false information or make any false promises or representations to any person concerning any employment;
Divide fees with or receive compensation from a professional sports league or franchise or its representative or employee;
Enter into any agreement, written or oral, by which the athlete agent offers anything of value to any employee of an institution of higher education located in this state in return for the referral of any athlete by that employee;
Enter into an oral or written agent contract or professional sport services contract with an athlete before the athlete’s eligibility for collegiate athletics expires; or
Give, offer or promise anything of value to an athlete, his guardian or to any member of the athlete’s immediate family before the athlete’s eligibility for collegiate athletics expires.
The statutory civil and criminal penalties for failing to comply with § 20-555 include,
The Commissioner of Consumer Protection may, after notice and conducting a hearing …revoke or suspend any certificate of registration.
The commissioner shall revoke any such certificate of registration held by any person.
The Commissioner of Consumer Protection may, after notice and conducting a hearing … order restitution or impose a civil penalty, or both … Any civil penalty imposed by the commissioner under this subsection shall not exceed one thousand dollars plus the amount of profits derived as a result of the violation minus any amount paid as restitution.
In addition to any other remedy provided any person who violates any provision shall [also] be guilty of a class B misdemeanor.
Modified from Lounsbury v. Camby.
