In a 199-page opinion, Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Craig Gargotta issued findings following a multi-week trial addressing the consolidated American Alliance of Football ("AAF") bankruptcy proceedings. The trial, held over several weeks in the spring and early summer of 2025, examined claims arising from the AAF’s short-lived inaugural season and subsequent bankruptcy filing in May 2019.
Dundon Capital Partners ("Dundon") became an investor in the AAF under exigent circumstances, stepping in after the league’s original equity sponsor was unable to fund operations as the season commenced. Following the league’s collapse, the AAF bankruptcy trustee alleged that Dundon caused the failure of the league by not providing additional rounds of funding above and beyond the $70 million planned for the first season, seeking damages of up to $180 million. Dundon, in turn, asserted that financial information AAF provided to him when soliciting his investment was false and misleading, and resulted in dramatic cash shortages and the ultimate failure of the league.
Judge Gargotta’s opinion reflects a detailed evaluation of the evidentiary record and expert testimony presented at trial, including testimony from BVA Group Managing Partner Erica Bramer, who served as Dundon’s expert. In his ruling, Judge Gargotta described Ms. Bramer’s credentials and experience in valuation, insolvency, and restructuring, and found her testimony "persuasive" and "more credible than Plaintiff’s expert."
Ms. Bramer testified on multiple issues central to the Court’s analysis, including the AAF’s financial condition at various points in time, its ongoing cash requirements, and the liabilities in existence when Dundon became involved. She also addressed the level of funding that would have been required to support the league through a path to financial self-sufficiency, and how those requirements differed materially from the representations made to Dundon. Based on this and other factual evidence, the Court found in favor of Dundon on several causes of action.
Ms. Bramer further testified regarding the absence of a causal link between the trustee’s allegations and the damages claimed. The Court concluded that the AAF trustee failed to establish causation between the alleged breaches and the asserted damages, awarding only nominal damages of $1.00.
In addition, Ms. Bramer presented expert analysis addressing valuation opinions offered by an opposing expert in support of the trustee’s damages claims. Based on Ms. Bramer’s testimony, Judge Gargotta found that the opposing expert testimony was marred by significant methodological flaws, including improper assumptions and reliance on unverified or inaccurate AAF data. As a result, the Court rejected the trustee’s assertion that the AAF lost $144.1 million in value due to Dundon’s involvement.
In sum, the Court concluded that the opposing expert’s report lacked an acceptable methodology and relied on invalid assumptions, while crediting Ms. Bramer’s analysis and testimony.
For additional background on the AAF bankruptcy and the Court’s ruling, a summary is available HERE, and the full opinion is available HERE.
