(a)  An educational institution has a right of action against an athlete agent or a former student athlete for damages caused by a violation of this chapter. In an action under this section, the court may award to the prevailing party costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 5-74.1-16

  • Athlete agent: means an individual who enters into an agency contract with a student athlete or, directly or indirectly, recruits or solicits a student athlete to enter into an agency contract. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-74.1-2
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Person: means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited-liability company, association, joint venture, government, governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, public corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-74.1-2
  • Student athlete: means an individual who engages in, is eligible to engage in, or may be eligible in the future to engage in, any intercollegiate sport. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-74.1-2

(b)  Damages of an educational institution under subsection (a) include losses and expenses incurred because, as a result of the conduct of an athlete agent or former student athlete, the educational institution was injured by a violation of this chapter or was penalized, disqualified, or suspended from participation in athletics by a national association for the promotion and regulation of athletics, by an athletic conference, or by reasonable, self-imposed disciplinary action taken to mitigate sanctions likely to be imposed by such an organization.

(c)  A right of action under this section does not accrue until the educational institution discovers, or by the exercise of reasonable diligence would have discovered, the violation by the athlete agent or former student athlete.

(d)  Any liability of the athlete agent or the former student athlete under this section is several and not joint.

(e)  This chapter does not restrict rights, remedies, or defenses of any person under law or equity.

History of Section.
P.L. 2008, ch. 246, § 2.