The legal battle between Fanatics and Marvin Harrison Jr. took another turn with the apparel, collectibles and betting company listing the Arizona Cardinals rookie’s father, Marvin Harrison Sr., as a defendant in an amended complaint.
Fanatics said in the amended complaint, filed Friday in the New York Supreme Court and obtained by The Athletic, the “defendants have perpetrated a fraud on Fanatics through a corporate shell game that they disclosed for the first time in sworn affirmations submitted in this litigation.”
Harrison Jr. signed an affidavit in July acknowledging The Official Marvin Harrison Collection Company had signed an agreement with Fanatics — but Harrison Jr. himself had never signed anything. He said in the affidavit the representative was his father.
Although Harrison Jr. said Harrison Sr. is an “authorized” representative of the Harrison Collection Company, there is only one owner or member — and that’s him.
In his affidavit, Harrison Sr. stated he negotiated and signed the binding term sheet with Fanatics on behalf of the Harrison Collection Company, but there was no intention for his son to be personally bound by it.
Fanatics said in Friday’s filing that Harrison Sr.’s signature on the binding term sheet “bears a striking resemblance” to Harrison Jr.’s signature.
“(The) defendants’ misconduct is now clear,” Fanatics said in the complaint. “Defendants knowingly induced Fanatics to enter into the Binding Term Sheet, never intending to perform; mimicked Harrison Jr.’s signature to mislead Fanatics into believing Harrison Jr. had signed for his company; and abused the corporate form in a fraudulent attempt to shield themselves (and the company) from any liability in the process.”
The Harrisons’ attorney, Andrew Staulcup, declined to comment when contacted by The Athletic.
A judge ruled on Aug. 8 that Fanatics could refile its lawsuit against Harrison Jr. after the affidavits revealed he wasn’t the person who signed the binding term sheet.
In May, Fanatics originally filed its lawsuit against Harrison Jr. for breach of contract. Per court documents, the company alleged Harrison Jr. agreed in the summer of 2023 to provide Fanatics with a number of autographed cards and his participation in promotional activities.
Fanatics claimed Harrison Jr. never fulfilled those obligations and that the Cardinals receiver publicly dismissed the existence of a binding document. The company said it has suffered lost profits and reputational harm, among other damages.
In the affidavit, Harrison Jr. said in May 2023 he signed a promotion and license agreement with The Topps Company, Inc., not with Fanatics. (Fanatics is the parent company of Topps.) On May 16, 2023, according to the affidavit, a representative of The Official Marvin Harrison Collection LLC signed a binding term sheet with Fanatics.
Fanatics is seeking a judgment finding Harrison Jr. and Harrison Collection in breach of the binding term sheet and requiring the parties to fulfill their obligations under the document.
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(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)
