Raptors accuse team of stealing secrets and make request to dismiss Knicks’ lawsuit.
To give Toronto an advantage in scouting, New York alleges an ex-employee was deployed as a mole.
The New York Knicks’ lawsuit against the Toronto Raptors has been requested to be dismissed.
The Raptors’ owner, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, submitted the request for dismissal in the Southern District of New York on Monday. The NBA team, head coach Darko Rajakovic, and 12 other individual defendants were represented by MLSE in the legal filings.
According to court filings, MLSE is requesting that the case be dismissed, arbitrated, or that the legal process be suspended pending the outcome of the proposed arbitration.
“This baseless lawsuit is a public relations stunt by the Knicks,” says the statement
“Unless they reverse course and accept the jurisdiction of the NBA commissioner as the parties agreed, the Knicks have chosen a forum that would likely not even be able to commence substantive proceedings until after the upcoming NBA season concludes and not ultimately resolve the dispute until 2025 at the earliest.”
Raptors are being sued by the Knicks for allegedly utilizing an ex-employee as a “mole” to steal scouting information.
MLSE and the Raptors’ spokespeople declined to comment on the new move or the case itself.
On August 22, the Knicks filed a lawsuit against the Raptors, Rajakovic, and former scout Ikechukwu Azotam, saying that the defendants had planned to steal thousands of films and other scouting-related trade secrets throughout the months of July and August.
The Knicks are requesting unnamed damages as well as a
The Knicks make claims Rajakovic, who was appointed as the new head coach of the Toronto Raptors in June, player development coach Noah Lewis, and 10 unnamed Raptors workers all received confidential information, and Rajakovic occasionally gave Azotam instructions on how to abuse his access to Knicks data.
According to the motion submitted by the Raptors on Monday, it would be quicker and more efficient for the Knicks to go via the NBA’s arbitration process if they want to stop anyone from using their intellectual property.
At a media day on October 2, questions about the case were directed to Raptors club president Masai Ujiri.
“There has been one time a team has sued a team in the NBA,” Ujiri stated. “Only once. What the heck?
The petition from MLSE on Monday repeated his decision to dismiss the case.
Suits between members of the same group
“They are among the most comprehensive arbitration clauses anywhere.”
The Knicks’ owners, Madison Square Garden Sports, said they continue to think that filing a lawsuit against MLSE is the best course of action.
“As we have previously stated, given the theft of proprietary and confidential files and clear violation of criminal and civil law, we were left no choice but to take this to federal court and are confident the judicial system will agree,” stated the statement.
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