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- Tavo and hFn are suing for delaying payment of dues and contractual flaws
- In the initial trials, the courts have sided with the players, but the paiN Gaming organization intends to appeal.
Former paiN Gaming players Otávio "Tavo" Gabriel and William "hFn" Medeiros are suing the organization for delaying payment of prize money as well as illegal contracts according to Brazilian portal Universo Online.
The players went to court in December 2018 and left the team in January 2019. Tavo and hFn alleged that the organization delayed the payment of prize money for months and on this basis, they terminated their contracts early and left the team.
According to Universo Online, Danylo "Kingrd" Nascimento also filed a lawsuit at the same time. However, he withdrew the suit in November 2019 after settling with the club outside court.
The Player’s Allegations
- hFn and Tavo alleged that paiN Gaming had violated Brazilian labour laws by signing a contract with the players for more than two years.
- paiN Gaming delayed payments of prize money from The International 8 and one other championship.
The Club’s Defense
- The club’s representatives attributed the problem of the length of the contracts to an error in dates.
- The representatives of paiN Gaming also allegedly stated that they could not pay the players the prize money because of delays on the part of the tournament organizers.
- paiN Gaming also pointed out that hFn and Tavo signed with another esports organization, Digital Chaos in January 2019, days after they started the lawsuits, which allegedly indicated that the two players were only filing a lawsuit to join the new team without paying the transfer penalty.
The Court’s Decision
- The court confirmed that the contracts had a term longer than that allowed by Brazilian labour law and voided the contracts of the players.
- It also pointed out that paiN’s documents claim they had received prize money from four tournament organizers on a single day, however, the judge found this to be improbable and stated that the club had intentionally withheld the money.
- It also noted that the club withheld the prize money and did not transfer it to the players within the term stipulated in the contract (the month after the club received it) and added that it was a serious offence considering the fact that the premiums owed were much higher than the monthly salary of pro-players at the time.
- In an appeal, paiN Gaming also pointed out that hFn had signed another contract with the club on July 1, 2019. The court clarified that the lawsuit was about the first agreement and that the new contract did not alter previous events.
No Resolution Yet
- hFn’s lawsuit has already been processed twice. Despite this, the player signed a contract with the club in the midst of the legal proceedings and was competing with the team until the organization disbanded in early-April 2020.
- Tavo’s case is still awaiting a decision in the second court proceeding.
paiN Gaming’s Statements
The Brazillian portal, Universo Online, who reported these events claims to have contacted members of the paiN Gaming organization for comments on this matter.
- The team responded stating that the lawsuits are still in progress, without a final verdict.
- It also stated that they’re waiting for the publication of hFn’s case’s verdict in order to appeal at a higher court. As for Tavo’s case, they’re waiting for the 2nd trial.
- It also restated that the club was not responsible for the delays in payment, but rather tax problems and delays on the part of the tournament organizers.
Note: The original letter was published in Portuguese on uol.com.br. This article has been written by using Google to translate and as such, might contain translation errors.
