A Texas law firm is representing Ball Mudder LLC in suing Major League Baseball for nearly $100 million for alleged breach of contract.
The plaintiff filed the lawsuit Feb. 20 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Tarrant County.
Ball Mudder is also suing for promissory estoppel, and common law fraud.
The defendant is the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, doing business as Major League Baseball, headquartered in New York.
An attorney reached at MLB declined to comment or refer anyone to comment on the case. MLB press relations did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The attorney for Ball Mudder, Warren V. Norred of Norred Law in Arlington, Texas, did not immediately respond for comment.
The case stems from MLB’s alleged failure to follow through on a promise to purchase 100 ball mudding machines from Ball Mudder, a startup based in Farmers Branch, Texas. Ball Mudder developed a patented machine to uniformly apply substances to baseballs, known as “mudding.” MLB, though its representatives, allegedly promised to buy the machines, priced at $97,000 each for the 2021 Spring Training season.
Ball Mudder alleges it invested $1.8 million based on MLB’s promises, including hiring an engineering firm and developing prototypes.
An oral contract was allegedly formed, which MLB breached by not following through on the purchase, according to the lawsuit. MLB is also accused of making false promises with no intention of fulfilling them, causing financial harm to Ball Mudder, according to the lawsuit.
Philip William Small of Westlake, sole inventor and CEO of The Ball Mudder, designed it for professional baseball teams to uniformly apply substances to baseballs to treat them. He holds the patent on the product.
“The entire development of this product has been directed at and guided by MLB,” according to the lawsuit.
The deal allegedly broke down when the original MLB executive with whom Small dealt with left the organization to take another job. The new executive who took over allegedly gave Small the run around and eventually stopped responding to his emails or calls, according to the lawsuit.
Ball Mudder claims damages of approximately $1.8 million for development costs, $24 million for lost profits and other financial projections. The plaintiff also seeks attorney fees, pre-and post-judgment interest and exemplary damages amounting to $72 million.
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