AKRON, Ohio - A jury has ruled in favor of LeBron James in a multimillion dollar dispute with an entertainment producer who claimed that the NBA star broke a promise to allow him to make a documentary about James' life.
James turned to his mother and grinned after hearing the verdict Friday in Summit County Common Pleas Court. The vote was 6-2 in favor of James.
Entertainment producer Joseph Marsh was hoping the jury would award him $5.75 million, the profit he estimated the documentary would create.
Marsh had expected to make the documentary starting in James' senior year at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. The lawsuit originally sought $15 million.
Marsh's lawyer, Richard Dobbins, pointed to a meeting James had with Marsh intermediary Joey Berish at the high school's gymnasium as evidence that James wanted to make the documentary.
James' attorney, Fred Nance, told the jury that there was never a contract to do the film, and James testified he never agreed to the proposal. Nance characterized Marsh as a businessman who wanted to cash in on the young phenom through a $100,000 loan he made to James' family.
James hugged Nance, his friends and family and even a fan who had sat through the trial. James thanked all three of his attorneys, calling them "the dream team."
Nance said that after the verdict a check was given to Marsh for $122,730, repaying the loan plus interest, on behalf of James' mother, Gloria James, and Eddie Jackson, James' father figure.
"I'm just very excited. I always was confident in my word, because it's just the truth," James said after the verdict.
The jury of four men and four women deliberated for two hours in the trial's fourth day.
Marsh said he was pleased to finally have the loan repaid. The loan had been in dispute, and the two sides agreed on the repayment during the trial.
"The system works, that's all I can tell you," Marsh said. "It's fair. I guess they feel like that's all I deserve."
James said he wasn't concerned about any comments Marsh's attorneys made about his family during the trial. The attorneys said they took a loan while on public assistance and gave Marsh the impression they thought a documentary was a good idea.
"For our family that's nothing new," James said. "That just makes us stronger as a family."
Friday morning, Judge Jane Bond denied Nance's motion to throw out the case based on Ohio law that requires an agent's contract with a student-athlete to be in writing. Bond ruled that it was a valid argument but should have been filed before the trial started.
Marsh, co-owner of Magic Arts & Entertainment Inc. in a Cleveland suburb, argued that James and members of his inner circle broke a verbal agreement to allow him to produce a documentary about James' life. Marsh testified that in the entertainment industry verbal agreements are commonplace.
James, whose hometown is Akron, became a nationally known high school basketball player well before he was taken by Cleveland as the first pick in the 2003 NBA draft. He has since signed about $135 million worth of endorsement deals.
