DraftKings, ex-executive settle lawsuit over move to rival Fanatics

Thursday, January 2, 2025 8:57 PM
Photo:  Fanatics Betting and Gaming (courtesy)
  • Nate Raymond, Reuters

DraftKings has reached a settlement with a former executive that the sports betting company had accused of stealing trade secrets before he quit his job to help build out rival Fanatics’ nascent team catering to “VIP” clients.

Lawyers for DraftKings, Michael Hermalyn and Fanatics said in a court filing on [December 23] in federal court in Boston that they had reached a confidential settlement to resolve dueling lawsuits filed in Massachusetts and California over whether the executive could work at Fanatics and what services he could provide.

The deal came three months after the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had rejected Hermalyn’s bid to overturn a preliminary injunction that severely restricted the type of work he can do at Fanatics after finding a noncompete agreement he signed while at DraftKings was enforceable.