Saudi Arabia’s PIF Calls Judge’s Order ‘Infringement’ of Sovereignty

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund filed an amicus brief late Tuesday night in the newest salvo in LIV Golf’s legal battle against the PGA Tour.

The brief described a judge’s order that PIF and fund chief Yasir Al-Rumayyan were subject to discovery in LIV’s legal battle with the PGA Tour as “an extraordinary infringement on the sovereignty of a foreign state.”

PIF is LIV Golf’s major financial backer, which is undeniable as the fund worth north of $600 billion has dedicated hundreds of millions toward LIV Golf. But magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen found last month that the PIF and Al-Rumayyan have been so involved with LIV Golf’s creation and management that neither can claim sovereign immunity exceptions. 

In the filings, PIF has asked U.S. District Court Judge Beth Labson Freeman to review van Keulen’s decision that subjected PIF to subpoenas for documents and deposition of Al-Rumayyan.

“Saudi Arabia has a significant interest in enforcing the PIF Law — and multiple other Saudi laws — that specifically preclude disclosure of the confidential information implicated by the [PGA] Tour’s subpoenas,” lawyers for PIF wrote in the amicus brief. 

The arguments weren’t unexpected and have been used in other cases.

Most recently, lawyers for Elon Musk attempted to subpoena PIF as part of a lawsuit brought by Tesla investors. PIF, in essence, ignored the subpoenas, and the judge presiding over that case didn’t force PIF to provide discovery. 

“At that point, they’re going to have to either comply with the discovery requests, ignore them altogether, or try to settle the case,” said John Nucci, a sports law attorney and golf law correspondent for Conduct Detrimental. “They have already refused to comply with a subpoena to testify in a fraud trial against Tesla in the same district court in California, so ignoring it isn’t out of the question. 

“The problem for them if they take that route is that the court could outright dismiss their claims with prejudice. Ultimately, PIF will have to decide whether the LIV case is important enough to them to justify subjecting their officials to depositions and opening up their books.”

If Labson upholds van Keulen’s order, the PIF’s next option would be to file an appeal with the 9th Circuit — a move that would almost certainly delay the trial currently set to begin in January. Nucci said the federal appeals court is “unlikely to provide them relief.”

The lawsuit began in August when several golfers sued the PGA Tour over allegations of anticompetitive practices that prevented LIV from establishing a foothold in pro golf. LIV Golf became the main plaintiff weeks later. 

PIF is controlled by the Saudi government. It is effectively overseen by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salma.