Golf legend Jack Nicklaus wins $50M in defamation lawsuit against

• A Florida jury awarded golf legend Jack Nicklaus $50 million in a defamation lawsuit against his former company.
• Nicklaus alleged the Nicklaus Cos. spread false stories that he was joining the LIV Golf League and was mentally unfit.
• The lawsuit claimed the company’s actions damaged his reputation and exposed him to ridicule and contempt.

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida — A Palm Beach County jury has awarded 85-year-old golf legend Jack Nicklaus $50 million in a defamation lawsuit against his former company.

The jury on Oct. 20 found that the Nicklaus Cos. actively participated in the false publishing of facts that damaged Nicklaus’ reputation and exposed him to ‘ridicule, hatred, mistrust, distrust or contempt.’

The six-person panel also ruled in favor of billionaire banker Howard Milstein, the executive chairman of the Nicklaus Cos., and Nicklaus Cos. executive Andrew O’Brien, both of whom were named individually in the defamation lawsuit.

That portion of the verdict means Milstein and O’Brien are not required to pay Nicklaus damages as well.

Attorneys for all parties presented their closing arguments Oct. 20, and jurors deliberated for about four-and-a-half hours, returning to the courtroom shortly before 6:30 p.m. to announce their verdict.

‘We tremendously appreciate the time that the jury put into this case,’ Eugene Stearns, Nicklaus’ attorney, said Oct. 20, after the jury announced its verdict.

‘They were extraordinarily conscientious and dedicated, and I’m not going to quarrel with their outcome, because it really was their decision.’

After the verdict, Nicklaus, a longtime resident of North Palm Beach, exchanged hugs with friends and family. He did not issue a statement, referring questions to his attorney.

Attorneys for the defendants did not comment on the verdict, with an attorney who represented Milstein and the Nicklaus Cos. saying the company might issue a statement at a later time.

Jack Nicklaus: Business partners said I wasn’t mentally fit

Nicklaus, an 18-time majors champion in golf, filed the lawsuit against Milstein and O’Brien in 2023. He alleged the two men and others within the company were instrumental in spreading false stories that he secretly negotiated a $750 million deal to join the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League and that he was no longer mentally fit to manage his affairs.

Nicklaus accused his two former associates of orchestrating a campaign to damage his reputation as they wielded control of the company built on his name.

Nicklaus’ attorneys said those rumors, first included in a lawsuit the company filed against the golf legend in New York, were repeated by dozens of outlets and celebrated privately by the same executives who had once been his partners.

‘These are the people who planted a story,’ Stearns told jurors during closing his arguments. ‘The story is a lie. … What that they wanted to create in the minds of the public is Jack Nicklaus is an old guy who sold out to the Saudis.’

Stearns argued that Milstein wanted to damage Nicklaus’ reputation and claim it for himself. He disputed reports that Nicklaus Cos. executives intervened to convince Nicklaus to back out of a deal with the LIV Golf League.

“The fact is no one intervened to save Jack Nicklaus from himself,’ Stearns said. ‘The fact is he did not need saving. It’s a lie.” 

Attorneys for the defendants said Nicklaus Cos. executives never sought to smear Nicklaus, noting that the New York complaint was filed quietly on a Friday evening.

Barry Postman, representing both Milstein and the Nicklaus Cos., told jurors during his closing arguments that the case amounted to little more than a ‘business dispute.’

He argued that there was no evidence to show that Nicklaus had endured any harm to his reputation. Postman argued that the Nicklaus Cos. executives had no incentive to tarnish the reputation of the company’s namesake.

‘There is no evidence any business was lost. No evidence of money lost,’ he said. ‘His reputation is as stellar as it’s always been. His life is as stellar as it’s always been. There are no damages.’  

Daniel Shapiro, the attorney for O’Brien, told jurors there was no evidence of O’Brien making negative statements about Nicklaus. Stearns told jurors that Nicklaus’ reputation remained intact but diminished.

Postman made an oral motion for a mistrial, objecting to a comment about the internet Stearns made to the jurors during his rebuttal closing argument. Circuit Judge Reid Scott did not immediately issue a ruling.

Nicklaus folded old company into Nicklaus Cos. in 2007

In 2007, Nicklaus folded his company, Golden Bear International, into a newly created entity called the Nicklaus Cos. The $145 million transaction was financed through Milstein’s Emigrant Bank — a loan from Milstein’s own institution to the company he was buying into.

Nicklaus retired from his executive role in 2017, triggering a noncompete agreement that went into effect for five years. During that time, Nicklaus could neither design golf courses nor endorse products outside the Nicklaus Cos.

In 2022, as the clause neared its end, he sought arbitration in Florida to confirm he could again use his own name in business. At the same time, the Nicklaus Cos. sued him in New York, accusing its founder of breaching agreements, including the alleged secret talks to join the LIV Golf League.

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.