Jack Nicklaus-Founded Golf Course Developer Files For Bankruptcy In Response To $50M Judgment
Nicklaus Cos. announced it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after a jury ruled in favor of company founder and golf legend Jack Nicklaus and awarded him $50M in damages.
Nicklaus Cos. disagrees with the verdict and is exploring more legal options, with plans to use the Chapter 11 filing to stabilize and preserve its funds, according to a release. The company and more than 10 of its affiliated entities are also listed in the filing, according to public records.
The company listed liabilities between $500M and $1B.
“We take this step to protect our brand, our client relationships, and — most importantly — our employees,” Nicklaus Cos. CEO Phil Cotton said in a statement. “We are dedicated to protecting the brand and continuing to offer the highest standard of service to our clients all over the world.”
The Pompano Beach-based company has more than 20 courses in Florida, including a handful of courses open for play and under development in Miami, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach, according to its website.
Jack Nicklaus filed the lawsuit in 2023, claiming the company and its executives, Howard Milstein and Andrew O'Brien, were involved in spreading false information. The claims included that Nicklaus secretly negotiated a $750M deal to join the Saudi-backed Liv Golf League and that he wasn’t mentally fit to handle his affairs, The Palm Beach Post reported.
The Palm Beach County jury awarded the 85-year-old the $50M in damages in October, and Milstein and O’Brien were not found individually liable.
Nicklaus Cos. filed a motion in bankruptcy court to obtain debtor-in-possession financing of up to $7M at 8.5% interest from FundNick LLC, an entity connected to Milstein, the South Florida Business Journal reported.
Nicklaus, who dominated the sport from the 1960s through the 1980s, founded the company in 1970 as Golden Bear International and then merged it with and renamed it Nicklaus Cos. in 2007. He retired from his executive position in 2017.
