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We see so often in pro sports how a high quality player is transferred to another team and some time later it emerges that this player has a chronic condition affecting their performance - the same injury that put off the selling team from offering them a new contract.

In plain language, the new team were sold a lame horse.

Obviously, the new team spent a day or two making their own medical examination before agreeing the transfer and signing off on the multi-million fee involved. Yet, without really knowing the nature of any physiological weaknesses, it would be well-nigh impossible for a new set of specialists to find a flaw in an otherwise 100% healthy elite athlete.

Is the caveat emptor principle with property also the situation with pro sportsman transfer ?

Or does the huge scale of investment afford a buying team any measure of "discovery" on the athlete's previous medical history, examinations and specialist opinion ?

Michael Hall
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Trunk
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1 Answers1

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The receiving team would have a right to discovery in litigation. If they were, for instance, to sue the selling team for misrepresentation or for a declaration that the contract is void, in this process, they would have a right to all relevant documents in the possession of the selling team.

If by discovery, you mean something less specific (given that you used the word in quotes: "discovery"), then the selling team would only get "discovery" to the extent that they ask for it as a negotiating position or condition of them agreeing to the contract.

Contracts often have conditions precedent or warranties. A contract could have a selling team warrant that they have disclosed all medical information that they are aware of.

A typical warranty in a sports transfer contract would be that the selling club has:

has made a full and honest disclosure to the buying club of the player’s past and current medical history that could in any way affect his health, fitness and/or ability to play professional football

But whether any of the above is actually the case in any given transaction is a factual question.

Jen
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