Jordan wins movie breach of contract lawsuit; awarded $50,000

Jet, Nov 2, 1998

Not only did a Cook County (Chicago) jury rule in favor of basketball star Michael Jordan in a breach of contract lawsuit, it also awarded him $50,000.

After seven hours of deliberation, the jury rejected a $16 million lawsuit filed by Heaven Corp., producers of the 1991 movie, Heaven Is A Playground, that accused Jordan of breaking a deal to star in the 1991 basketball movie that flopped without him. The plaintiffs claimed Jordan had agreed to play the role of Matthew Lockhart in the movie. The low-budget film was set in Chicago and based on a book by the same name. It starred Loyola Marymount star and NBA player Bo Kimble as Lockhart.

Jordan won $50,000 in compensatory damages for the fee he was paid, which he eventually returned to Heaven Corp. In a counterclaim, he accused Heaven Corp. of falsely informing him that it had sufficient financing for the movie.

Jordan was awarded no punitive damages. "From the very beginning, I have believed that once these facts became apparent, there would be no doubt that this was nothing more than an attempt to realize personal gain at my expense," Jordan said in a written statement. "I will never back down in the face of this kind of personal attack for money, either now or in the future."

Jurors said the most crucial evidence was documents showing that Heaven Corp. didn't have sufficient funds in the bank to make the film by June 30, 1989, which Jordan's lawyers argued was required under the contract.