NEW YORK -- Former Yankees All-Star catcher Jorge Posada and his wife Laura are looking to recoup $11.2 million in lost earnings because of, they claim, "egregious and unlawful" actions by their ex-financial advisers, according to a lawsuit filed in Miami.
However, the two sides may never make it to court because they are closing in on a settlement, according to the lawyer for the two defendants, Juan Carlos Collar and Anthony Fernandez.
"The parties have agreed to a settlement in principle," Gus Lamelas, the Coral Gables-based lawyer for the defendants, said Tuesday via phone.
Lamelas first commented to the New York Daily News on Monday that the two sides were nearing an agreement.
Earlier Tuesday morning, the Posadas' lawyer, New York-based Barry Lax, took issue with Lamelas going public on what Lax viewed as a private matter.
"It is inappropriate for their lawyer to go on the record to describe any settlement discussions, if there are any or not," Lax told ESPN New York.
Jose Contreras, the former Cuban standout who pitched parts of 11 seasons in the big leagues, has also filed a suit against Collar and Fernandez. In Contreras' case, the lawyers have already informed the judge that a settlement has been agreed to but not yet officially signed, according to Lamelas.
Lamelas would not disclose any of the financial figures being discussed in either case.
Posada earned more than $117 million during his baseball career, according to BaseballReference.com, while Contreras' total was $67.5 million.
The Posadas claim they deserve "no less than $11.2 million" in damages done by Collar and Fernandez. In the suit, the Posadas say they were duped by the defendants, who took advantage of the fact that the Posadas had no background in business or investing. Posada's wife has a law degree, according to her personal website.
In one example, Collar and Fernandez, the complaint says, had the Posadas invest $3 million into a new venture called Sunset Trails, which the court document describes as a "speculative limited liability company that owned no assets at the time of the investment." The defendants were going to use Sunset to buy a real estate development property that "they purportedly planned to develop into a wealthy equestrian community in Highlands County [Florida]."
The defendants, according to the lawsuit, also had Jorge, "unbeknownst to him, execute an Unlimited Continuing Guaranty Agreement, wherein [Jorge] agreed to secure all of Sunset's debts to the bank, including the $8 million mortgage."
When the real estate market went south around 2005, the investment went sour, which was part of the undoing between the Posadas and their former advisers that led to the court documents being filed.