On November 10, 2016, the Snell Law Firm filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Special Olympics against PR Nutrition and Travis Goodwin, former Vice President of PR Nutrition, in Harris County, Texas District Court seeking to recover $270,000 in unpaid sponsorship fees.
PR Nutrition—headquartered in Dallas, Texas—sells nutritional products for athletes. In 2015, Special Olympics and PR Nutrition entered into three sponsorship agreements for PR Nutrition to sponsor Special Olympics key events, including the 2015 Special Olympics Unified Relay Across America and the Law Enforcement Torch Run Conference. Through its Special Olympics Global Bronze sponsorship, PR Nutrition received notable public recognition surrounding each of the events. For instance, PR Nutrition was granted rights to display its logo at celebration sites and to develop national materials for marketing and promotional purposes as well as a license to bear the Special Olympics trademarks for distribution. PR Nutrition’s Executive Vice-President Goodwin, for instance, was given special access to private receptions and corporate partners.
As a representative for PR Nutrition, Mr. Goodwin also walked in the Parade of Athletes during the Opening Ceremony for the 2015 Special Olympics World Games broadcast by ESPN and viewed by millions of people. Despite reaping the many benefits as a sponsor, PR Nutrition has since refused to pay Special Olympics the $270,000 in sponsorship fees. PR Nutrition also reneged on a promise to deliver two tickets to the 2016 College Football BCS National Championship Game. Special Olympics had to issue a refund to a police officer who won the tickets. Based on information provided to Special Olympics, it appears that PR Nutrition also engaged in the same behavior with respect to the Houston Rockets basketball team in 2014 or 2015.
“PR Nutrition banked on the Special Olympics’ excellent name and reputation to get publicity for its company but then refused to honor its obligation to Special Olympics. This sort of behavior cannot be tolerated. We will be working hard to ensure Special Olympics recovers the money it is entitled to,” said Jason Snell of the Snell Law Firm.
The Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 5.3 million athletes in nearly 170 countries. An integral part of the Special Olympics are the volunteers and supporters, as well as sponsors or donors, committed to making its programs possible.
Based in Austin, Texas, the Snell Law Firm has proudly been providing excellent legal services since 2007. With diverse strengths in many areas of the law, the firm’s accomplished team provides strong legal counsel and fierce courtroom representation on a wide range of civil litigation matters, including business and commercial disputes, real estate litigation, construction matters, and class action litigation.