Jury trial date in multimillion-dollar lawsuit against PGA Tour golfer Tony Finau will be moved from October to 2025

One of the investors in PGA Tour golfer Tony Finau’s career when the Utah-born sports icon was a teenager will have to wait at least four more months, perhaps longer, to get his day in court after he filed a lawsuit in 2020 seeking more than $16 million in what he says are unpaid expenses, loans and percentages of winnings.

Last January, Judge James Brady of Utah’s 4th Judicial District Court scheduled an eight-day jury trial to begin on Oct. 2, 2024, in Provo to hear Salt Lake City businessman Molonai Hola’s case against Finau, 34, who was born and raised in Salt Lake City, but resided in the Utah County town of Lehi at the time of the original lawsuit filing in September 2020.

However, an email from Brady’s office informed attorneys representing the plaintiff, Hola, and the defendant, Finau, that “the court has received word recently that this case will need to be rescheduled due to unavoidable circumstances.”

One of Brady’s law clerks declined to give a more specific reason for the delay when contacted by the Deseret News on Friday, saying that once the new trial date is set, the reason will be listed on the courts calendar.

Hola’s Salt Lake City-based attorney, Joshua S. Ostler, said counsel on both sides know the reason “and understand it,” but are not at liberty to discuss it.

Judge Brady has announced he is retiring at the end of this calendar year after serving on the Fourth District Court bench since May 2010 when he was appointed by then Gov. Gary Herbert.

The judicial case manager informed both parties that the next available date for an eight-day jury trial at Provo District Court is May 28 to June 6, 2025. So the case will presumably have to be heard by a different judge.

Finau’s attorney, Stewart Peay, informed the court that he has a trial set in Idaho from May 27-30, 2025, so those dates will not work for him.

“It seems like that is not going to work for all the parties, or attorneys,” Ostler said. “We have been in contact with the clerk a little bit and they might work to see if we can get on some kind of expedited schedule. … There is a possibility we can get on the calendar the first thing next year, but I am not sure yet.”

A January trial could cause Finau to miss a PGA Tour event or two in Hawaii or California, but it comes before pro golf’s major tournaments begin in April with the Masters in Augusta, Georgia.

The trial’s continuance from next month to 2025 means that Finau will now be available to play in the PGA Tour’s new Black Desert Championship in St. George from Oct. 10-13, 2024.

Ostler said although the continuance puts Hola’s camp “in a little bit of limbo right now,” it is not necessarily a setback for the plaintiff.

“We want to get to trial. We want Mr. Hola to have his day in court, and have his claims heard. That is still going to happen. We were looking forward to the October trial. But if it has to be rescheduled, it has to be rescheduled,” Ostler said. “We will still be able to make our same case. I wouldn’t characterize it as a blow to our case or our side or anything like that.”

Here’s why plaintiff wants trial moved out of Utah County

After receiving notice of the continuance on Wednesday, and realizing that the continuance would likely require a new judge in the case, Hola’s counsel on Thursday filed a motion to change the venue from Provo to Salt Lake City, where the lawsuit was originally filed before Finau’s attorneys got it moved to Provo in January 2021.

Hola’s attorneys argue that the case should have remained in Salt Lake County because attorneys on both sides are in the state’s most populated county, as are most of the witnesses. Other participants will fly into Salt Lake City for the trial, they said in the motion, and will be inconvenienced if they have to make the longer drive to Provo.

Why does Tony Finau’s faith matter in this case?

Also, the plaintiffs argued in their motion that “a fair and impartial determination is more likely in Salt Lake County” due to Utah County having a higher concentration of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints than Salt Lake County.

“Tony Finau’s celebrity is well known throughout Utah, but especially in Utah County, where’s he’s resided for the past 15 years and where he resided when he first became famous,” the motion states.

“Also, it is well known that Tony Finau is a devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” it continues.

Hola’s attorneys cited a 2021 Deseret News article stating that a survey showed 72% of Utah County residents identify as Latter-day Saints, compared to below 50% in Salt Lake County.

“Plaintiff acknowledges that the jury pool will consist of Tony Finau’s fans and admirers regardless of where the trial is held, but the impact on fairness and impartiality is undoubtedly smaller in Salt Lake County,” the motion states.

Finau’s attorneys have two weeks from last Thursday to respond to the change of venue motion. Ostler declined to elaborate on the prospects of getting the case moved back to Salt Lake County, or if the religion arguments are valid.

“I think the motion speaks for itself,” he said. “We’ve always maintained that the best place to have this trial is here in Salt Lake City.”