Judge tosses Luhnow lawsuit
Final tie severed between franchise, ex-general manager
Former Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow’s lawsuit against the ballclub was dismissed Friday after both parties “resolved their differences,” severing the final tie between the team and its most successful executive in history.
District Court Judge Kyle Carter granted the motion, which was filed jointly in 125th State District Court on Friday. Karl Stern, the attorney who submitted on behalf of Luhnow, did not respond when asked for further comment. An attorney representing the Astros did not return a request for comment.
Luhnow sought more than $20 million in damages in the breach of contract lawsuit he filed in November. Luhnow, 54, claimed he was the “scapegoat” for a signstealing scandal that tarnished Houston’s 2017 World Series title.
Astros owner Jim Crane fired Luhnow for cause on Jan. 13, 2020, after Major League Baseball’s investigation revealed the team used a trashcan banging system
throughout the 2017 season at Minute Maid Park. Manager A.J. Hinch was also dismissed.
Luhnow was fired with three years remaining on a contract that, according to his lawsuit, was worth more than $31 million in guaranteed money. He signed a contract extension in 2018 that ran through 2023.
Luhnow’s contract called for “any dispute” in the application of its terms to be resolved by “arbitration by the commissioner or the commissioner’s designee,” but Luhnow’s attorneys argued it was unenforceable in their suit because of commissioner Rob Manfred’s role in Luhnow’s dismissal. Manfred wrote MLB’s investigative findings into the sign-stealing scheme.
Luhnow’s lawyers said it would be a “complete sham” to allow Manfred or his designee in any arbitration hearing and called for an independent arbiter to preside. It is unknown whether arbitration occurred to cause the suit’s dismissal, but lawyers unaffiliated with the case surmised that was always a likely outcome.
“Arbitration is confidential. It is outside the public purview and accompanied by orders that make the proceedings secret,” Michael Lyons, of the Dallas firm of Lyons & Simmons, said in November. “Filing suit is a way for Jeff Luhnow to clear the air from a PR standpoint and get his story out in a way he might not otherwise have been able to do.”
Since reemerging into the public after the Astros’ 2020 season, Luhnow continues to claim ignorance toward the planning and execution of Houston’s sign-stealing scheme, one Major League Baseball called “player-driven” with assistance from lower-level baseball operations employees.
The scandal, along with lingering questions about his front-office culture, has tarnished Luhnow’s rebuilding of the Astros from doormat to near-dynasty. Now, his future plans seem to be more clear — and it might not involve a return to baseball.
Luhnow is on the board of directors for SportsTek Acquisition Corp. In a Jan. 29 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it intends to raise $125 million in an initial public offering. It is a blank-check business “formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses.”
Luhnow is the company’s chair and one of two co-CEOs, joining Tavo Hellmund, a Formula 1 promoter and University of Texas graduate who founded FIA Formula-1 United States Grand Prix in Austin.
Timothy Clark, a former minor league ballplayer, is the company’s Chief Operating Officer. Clark, who served as a part-time scout with the Cardinals and Astros during Luhnow’s tenure with both teams, has more than 20 years of experience in investment banking. San Antonio Spurs general manager R.C. Buford is among the company’s advisors.
The company intends “to focus on a target within the sports and related sectors. Examples of areas that the team intends to focus on include sports franchises, media, data analytics, and technology and services businesses serving those end markets, among others.”
According to the company’s filing with the SEC, Luhnow “worked with multiple investment groups targeting investments in baseball, soccer, and e-sports,” during 2020. Major League Baseball suspended Luhnow and Hinch for the entire 2020 season, but both are now eligible to return. Hinch was named manager of the Detroit Tigers in December.
Re-entry into baseball could be more difficult for Luhnow. In his now dismissed lawsuit, he blasted the sport’s investigation into the Astros and claimed Crane struck a deal with Manfred to hand out severe punishments. Luhnow’s original petition insinuated that Crane and Manfred exchanged proposals for potential penalties. Major League Baseball declined comment in November when the suit was filed.
“MLB’s ‘investigation’ actually was a negotiated resolution between Astros owner Jim Crane and MLB commissioner Robert Manfred that enabled the team to keep its World Series championship, went to great lengths to publicly exonerate Crane and scapegoated Luhnow for a sign-stealing scandal that he had no knowledge of and played no part in,” the lawsuit read.