Tony Finau was facing two separate lawsuits but the Utah Court of Appeals ruled last Thursday to affirm the dismissal of one of them.
Finau, the defending champion at this week’s PGA Tour stop, the Mexico Open at Vidanta, was sued, along with his brother Gipper and father Kelepi, by David Hunter in 2021 for breach of contract. Hunter says he was owed money after investing in the Finau Corporation, which was created in 2007 but dissolved in 2009.
Finau, a six-time winner on the PGA Tour who has made more than $38 million in on-course winnings, won his first event in 2015. The TV station Fox 13 News reported that a judge in Provo, Utah’s 4th District Court ruled on the grounds that the statute of limitations for a breach-of-contract claim had run out by the time the suit was filed.
In January, the Deseret News reported that Molonai Hola has filed another lawsuit which is scheduled for a jury trial in October 2024. The lawsuit by Hola accuses non-repayment of loans and other work and services provided to Finau and his family from 2006 to 2009.
The original complaint states that the financial assistance provided by Hola amounted to approximately six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000). Among the services provided, Hola made mortgage payments for a home in Salt Lake City, covered medical insurance and bills, paid for golf-related travel expenses for the Finau brothers including tournament fees, caddies, equipment, and golf apparel.
An earlier claim from Hola was thrown out where he alleged breach of contract, stating that he was to receive 20 percent Finau’s earnings as a professional golfer. The original claim filed in 2020 asked for $16 million. Hola’s representative, Joshua S. Ostler, declined to specify a dollar amount they will seek at trial in October.
