Kawhi Leonard & Nike’s Klaw Logo Case Gets Tense Over Court Location: Report

Kawhi Leonard might be on his off-season but he’s still in court in a hefty legal battle with Nike. As you’ve probably heard, the 2019 MVP filed a lawsuit against Nike for using his Klaw logo. He claimed that as part of the deal, he was “allowed Nike to use on certain merchandise the logo he created while Leonard continued to use the logo on non-Nike goods.” Nike later clapped back with a countersuit, claiming that using the logo on non-Nike clothing is a breach of contract. As the two duke it out in court, they’re both fighting to have the case dealt with in their respective home states.

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According to The Blast, Kawhi Leonard and Nike returned to court in a battle to find out where their legal dispute will take place. Kawhi asked the judge to keep it in Cali, where he filed the suit, instead of Oregon where Nike’s is located. Kawhi argued that the sportswear giant hasn’t shown any convincing evidence to have the case moved to Oregon.

“To the contrary, the balance of California is where the key events underlying the allegations of the Complaint occurred (e.g., where Plaintiff created the Leonard Logo while attending SDSU), and is where a number of the witnesses to the key events reside (e.g., Plaintiff’s coaches, teammates, family, people who assisted Plaintiff with the design, and Plaintiff himself),” he wrote.

“In contrast, Defendant is a multinational corporation with substantial operations throughout Southern California (and the entire world). Defendant interacted with Plaintiff for the most part in Texas, where Plaintiff was employed during his relationship with Defendant, and in Southern California, where Plaintiff spent significant time in the off-season, and certainly not in Oregon.”

They’re going to have to wait and see for the judge’s ruling.