Judge Vince Chhabria dismisses caddies' 'walking billboards' lawsuit

New Delhi: A US District Court judge has reportedly dismissed a lawsuit filed by a group of caddies against the US PGA Tour for alleged mistreatment and antitrust violations.

The Golf Channel on Wednesday reported that in a issued on February 9, judge Vince Chhabria found "the caddies` overall complaint about poor treatment by the tour has merit but this federal lawsuit about bibs does not."

"Caddies have been required to wear the bibs for decades, so caddies know when they enter the profession that wearing a bib during tournaments is part of the job.

"For that reason, there is no merit to the caddies` contention that contracts somehow prevent the tour from requiring them to wear bibs," Chhabria wrote.

Chhabria also denied the caddies’ claims that the Tour had violated their right of publicity and that the caddies agreed to the terms of circuit’s regulations under duress.

The group, which swelled to 168 caddies filed the lawsuit last February in San Francisco, claiming they are walking billboards.

It's widely believed that the lawsuit was a result of the Tour’s unwillingness to negotiate a settlement with caddies, who claim they are made to wear logo-covered bibs without receiving any proceeds from contracts that lawyers for the caddies estimate are valued at $50 million annually.