The National Hockey League (NHL) has filed a lawsuit against former Phoenix Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes over the hockey team’s bankruptcy filing. The bankruptcy filing was quite a surprise for the NHL and sparked months of legal battles that seemed to end in November-however the battle has is far from finished.
The league claims that Moyes’ bankruptcy filing and a related antitrust lawsuit were part of a scheme to evade those terms and pass the team to Balsillie, who wanted to relocate the franchise to Ontario.
The suit seeks at least $61 million, including money the NHL spent on legal fees in association with the bankruptcy case, another $20 million it expects to lose this season while operating the Coyotes, and $8 million that the league says is owed to former team coach Wayne Gretzky.
Moyes and his bankruptcy attorneys insist that the his bankruptcy filing was done in good faith and that the NHL lawsuit is unwarranted. But the NHL insists that the former Coyotes owner breached the agreement of their contract when filing bankruptcy and did so with the sole purpose of getting around a number of agreements. If it is found that the former Coyotes owner filed bankruptcy in bad faith, he could face stiff sanctions. Filing bankruptcy in bad faith, engaging in bankruptcy fraud, or attempting to manipulate the bankruptcy system can be punished by fines, dismissal of your bankruptcy case and in some cases imprisonment. Plus, if found guilty of filing bankruptcy in bad faith, Moyes may need to pay monetary damages to the NHL.