Lincoln University sues production company over Arrowhead game
A new lawsuit claims the company that arranged the Second Missouri Classic Game still owes Lincoln University thousands of dollars.
Lincoln University filed the suit Thursday against ALW Entertainment of Carrollton, Texas. The company, owned by Al Wash, arranged and promoted the football game, played on September 6, 2014 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City against the Langston Lions of Oklahoma. In exchange for the Blue Tigers football team playing in the game, and the marching band performing at halftime, ALW Entertainment would pay $60,000, according to the lawsuit.
“And, to date, he’s only paid about a third of that, about $20,000,” Kent Brown, the school’s attorney, told ABC 17 News in an interview.
The lawsuit claims Wash’s company was to pay the school $6,000 by May 21, 2014 and $24,000 by July 14. The remaining $30,000 would come by September 12, the Friday after the game was played. The lawsuit said Wash’s company only paid $20,000 so far.
“On January 12, 2015, Al Wash sent a letter to Lincoln regarding the balance owed,” the lawsuit reads. “Al Wash admitted that $30,000 was owed to Lincoln and stated that he ‘would be in contact to discuss this bill in detail.'”
Brown said the two parties disagreed on how much the contract for the game was worth. He claims a late stipulation to the contract promises the school $60,000, despite Wash’s belief of $50,000.
“It is gratifying, at least, that he admits the $30,000 that he owes, and we’ll have to dispute the other ten thousand,” Brown said.
The university needed to pay for the lodging and food costs for the trip to Kansas City, including the entire football team and marching band. The school’s lawsuit also claims Wash uses pictures taken from the game on Facebook, thus promoting the game using the university’s logo, despite not fulfilling the contract. In total, the suit is calling for $75,000 from ALW Entertainment, which Brown said knew about pending litigation in May, but did not respond.
“Obviously, we would take something less than what we’re asking for in the lawsuit, but what we’re saying is the value of the photographs, the promotional materials and the amount that is unpaid on the contract is in the range of $75,000,” Brown said. “So if we’re forced to delay and go through the expense of litigation to collect this, then we will be asking to be fully compensated.”
A desk clerk at ALW Entertainment told ABC 17 News no one was in the office to discuss the issue Friday afternoon.
The company, located in the north Dallas suburb of Carrollton, promotes several sports and entertainment events, such as comedy acts and other football games. The company promotes the Southwest Airlines State Fair Classic in Dallas, most recently played between Grambling State University from Louisiana and Prairie View A&M from Texas.
