StarPro Greens has asked the US Court of Appeals to revive their lawsuit against Challenger Turf. StarPro Greens claims it was lured into a business partnership and then cut out of production.
Last year, a federal judge in the US State of Georgia dismissed StarPro Greens’ antitrust, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, emotional distress and breach of contract claims.
The case revolves around a synthetic putting surface called Master Putting Turf. The turf was developed by Daniel Selton and his distribution company, StarPro Greens, and has been patented. In 2020, StarPro partnered with Challenger Turf after its original manufacturer stopped making Master Putting Turf.
Challenger Turf was willing to manufacture the special putting turf, providing StarPro would enter a three-way arrangement with TenCate North America, also known as Polyloom Corporation of America. TenCate North America would provide warehousing, cutting and shipment services. It is important to note that Challenge Turf is part of the TenCate Grass Group, one of the world’s largest vertically integrated synthetic turf organisations, with close to 50 subsidiaries.
Production ceased
In 2022, Challenger Turf ceased production of the surface. However, the next year, it attempted, together with TenCate, to sell Master Putting Turf to StarPro at a heavily inflated price. According to StarPro, it was left with no other option but to accept the higher price and purchase the product. They claim that Challenger Turf and TenCate Grass North America had now formed a monopoly as the only producers of the distinctive turf.
StarPro now claims that when the company purchased Master Putting Turf from the producers, it, in fact, received a defective product with a reduced “stimp” value. The stimp value represents how fast golf balls roll on the putting surface.
According to StarPro, customers complained, forcing the company to return or reject 70% of all sold products, with no reimbursement from the manufacturers. In its appellant brief to the court, StarPro claims that all putting turf and putting green sales had to cease, thus putting the final nail in the coffin of the company.
Small print issues
The attorney who represents Polyloom and Challenger Turf, Devin Dolive, argues that Selton inspected the substituted turf product and determined it was not of the same quality. Yet he knowingly accepted and distributed it to StarPro’s customers.
It is interesting to note that Polyloom sued a nonprofit organisation and several individuals last year for defamation. The company argued that they disseminated false information about the safety and environmental impact of synthetic turf.
In Europe, TenCate Grass Group is currently being investigated by the antitrust investigators of the European Union.