Today’s post will be a bit short. I’ve been up most of the night; my knee made sleep difficult. I kept telling it to settle down and quit hurting but it didn’t pay attention. ** Yawn! **
Pat Roberts and his senatorial campaign is back in the news and that news isn’t good. A new poll has been released. In a three-way race between Pat Roberts, Chad Taylor, and Greg Orman, Orman came out on top by one percentage point.
The poll, conducted by SurveyUSA for KSN-TV, showed that if the election were held now with Taylor’s name still on the ballot, Orman would receive 37 percent of the vote, Roberts 36 percent, Taylor 10 percent and a libertarian candidate six percent. — The Daily Caller.
Less than a month ago, that poll was much different. Pat Roberts lead with 37 percent of the vote. Taylor received 32 percent with Orman at the bottom with a measly 20 percent of the overall votes. Roberts remained about the same in both polls but voters fled from Taylor to Orman. One would think, then, that many of Orman’s current supporters are dems and dem-wannabe RINOs.
Roberts’ attacks against Milton Wolf in the Kansas Primary, soured many conservative ‘Pubs. A significant portion of them have indicated they will sit out of the Kansas Senatorial race. The more moderate ‘Pubs are now split between Orman and Roberts. According to the poll above, Orman is winning.
Or is it? Independent candidate Greg Orman is being sued in Federal court for failure to pay royalties.
Boxing firm sued Kansas Senate hopeful Orman
09/08/2014 6:38 PM, 09/08/2014 6:38 PM
Kansas City. Independent U.S. Senate candidate Greg Orman is embroiled in a federal lawsuit in Kansas with an international boxing equipment manufacturer in a dispute over $30 million worth of payments for royalties and merchandise sales the firm claims it will be owed through 2018.
Orman, seeking to unseat three-term Republican Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts in the Nov. 4 election, is one of five defendants in a lawsuit filed by Everlast World’s Boxing Headquarters Corp. The lawsuit alleges Orman and the others are responsible for payments owed to Everlast by now-bankrupt Ringside Inc., of Lenexa, because their new firms are an “alter-ego” of the defunct one.
Orman campaign spokesman Sam Edelen said Monday that the lawsuit is “without merit.” Orman and his fellow defendants asked the court Friday to allow them to file counterclaims alleging a secret agreement between Everlast and another businessman previously involved with Ringside.
The lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial in October 2015. Everlast accuses the defendants of breaching contracts and infringing upon and diluting its trademark — allegations the defendants dispute in court filings. Everlast seeks to prevent them from selling the company’s products.
Everlast filed the litigation in July 2012 in New York. The case was transferred to Kansas in April 2013 and expanded to include Orman and a Kansas City-area company in which he is involved, Combat Brands.
“They named Greg just because he’s a deep pocket,” said Eric Carter, an Olathe attorney and former state legislator representing Orman and the other defendants.
Scott Ast, a Kansas City, Missouri, attorney representing Everlast, declined to comment.
Orman, 45, also the co-founder of a private equity firm, touts his business experience in his race against the 78-year-old Roberts, who looked vulnerable after a tough GOP primary with a tea party challenger. Orman’s campaign in June called Combat Brands one of his “many successful companies,” and Carter said it has 50 employees.
The race suddenly appeared competitive last week, when the Democratic nominee ended his campaign, possibly giving Orman a better chance against Roberts in a normally safe Republican state. The GOP, fighting to regain a Senate majority, always has counted on Roberts winning re-election.
Everlast claims it had agreements through 2018 with Ringside, which sold boxing and mixed martial arts gear, requiring royalties and the purchase of a minimum amount of Everlast products. The lawsuit says Ringside owes Everlast nearly $1.7 million in royalties for 2012 through 2018, and $28.4 million for merchandise Ringside promised to sell on its website but didn’t.
Everlast contends it terminated its licensing and website agreements with Ringside in June 2012 after it failed to make a royalty payment.
The story continues on the website. It would appear that Orman’s legal issues are only beginning. No one yet knows how this lawsuit will affect his campaign, but you can bet Pat Roberts won’t overlook it.