Lenny Dykstra Takes A Swing At Company For Failing To Disclose $400k Payment From Amazon

The Breakdown

• Former MLB player Lenny Dykstra filed a lawsuit on August 5, 2018 against media production company DLP Media Group, its owners and its representatives Creative Artists Agency (and agent Evan Dick) for money received from Amazon.
• Dykstra says that he was told that terms of a deal to sell his autobiography to Amazon were finalized, but in September or October 2017, he was advised that Amazon would not move forward with the project.
• Dykstra claims that Amazon still paid the Defendants roughly $400,000, which the Defendants failed to disclose to Dykstra before he signed a release.
• Here’s the Complaint: Dykstra v. DLP Media Group, LLC, et al.

Some Color

Lenny Dykstra was a noteworthy baseball player for the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. After retiring from the sport, Dykstra fell on tough times, dropping as low as being convicted of a felony and ending up in prison. He documented all of this in an autobiography titled, House of Nails: A Memoir of Life on the Edge.

Dykstra’s personality and story caught the attention of full-service media production company DLP Media Group, which was interested in developing and producing a docuseries featuring Dykstra and his life story.

On April 21, 2017, Dykstra and DLP Media Group entered into an “Exclusivity-Hold / Development Agreement” that allowed DLP Media Group to pitch, develop and possibly produce a documentary based on Dykstra’s story. The agreement stipulated that Dykstra would receive compensation and credit if DLP Media Group entered into an agreement with a network.

Dykstra was advised that the terms of a deal with Amazon were closed and that Amazon and DLP Media Group were waiting on MLB approval. He was eventually informed that MLB signed off on the deal and provided an “On Camera Participation Agreement,” which identified the project as tentatively being called “Nails” and intended for initial exhibition on Amazon Prime Video. The aforesaid Participation Agreement entitled Dykstra to $200,000 as a fee for his services.

Unfortunately, Amazon scrapped its plans to move forward with the project. Then, DLP Media Group asked Dykstra to sign an agreement in exchange for forgiving out-of-pocket expenses. Dykstra’s main beef is that he says the Defendants fails to disclose that they received roughly $400,000 from Amazon despite the project never being relesaed. He says he is entitled to monies that the Defendants pocketed.

Dykstra is suing for Breach of Contract, Breach of Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing, Fraud in the Inducement of a Contract and Fraud – Negligent Misrepresentation.

The Quote

“Defendants did not disclose to Plaintiff that they received approximately $400,000 in damages from Amazon as a result of the failed docuseries project when they directed Dykstra to sign the Release Agreement.” – Dykstra v. DLP Media Group, LLC, et al.