Vijay Singh has filed a cross-appeal against the PGA Tour in the latest chapter of litigation between the two parties that has spanned almost five years. The case, which has been ordered to trial, centers around Singh’s admitted use of deer antler spray that led to his suspension from the Tour. Singh sued the Tour in 2013, claiming the Tour unfairly suspended him for using the spray before it consulted with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), who had previously ruled that that the use of deer antler spray was not a violation without the presence of a failed drug test. Although Singh was reinstated by former Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem, Singh continued with the lawsuit, claiming that he faced “humiliation and ridicule” from the initial suspension.
The cross-appeal, which Singh argues should not hold up the upcoming trial, claims that New York Supreme Court Judge Eileen Bransten improperly dismissed Singh’s argument that the Tour violated an implied duty of good faith and fair dealing. Specifically, Singh is arguing that he is entitled to have a jury decide whether the Tour’s failure to discipline other players who also used deer antler spray was arbitrary and irrational, and whether it constituted a violation of the Tour’s implied duty of good faith. The cross-appeal is also challenging a separate ruling allowing testimony at the upcoming trial from an attorney who helped write the World Anti-Doping Code.