Six months after Alec Bohm sued his parents, Daniel and Lisa Bohm, for alleged financial mismanagement, the parties settled the matter out of court. It is the end of a public legal battle between a son and his parents that was marked by back-and-forth sparring about allegations over Bohm’s finances and how his parents handled his baseball earnings.
There was no further statement from Bohm’s legal team at Zarwin Baum other than: “We would hope everybody respects the parties’ privacy.”
Daniel and Lisa’s legal team at Holland & Knight did not respond to an email sent late Thursday night.
Bohm’s lawsuit, which was filed in Philadelphia County on March 25, alleged Daniel and Lisa committed financial impropriety while running limited liability companies on his behalf and misrepresented their stakes in those entities. Bohm alleged in court filings that his parents, who began managing his finances shortly after the Philadelphia Phillies drafted him in 2018, invested some of his baseball earnings in the LLCs, used part of the money to pay his expenses and employed “sizeable amounts” for personal use.
The Phillies first baseman sought $3 million in judgment from his parents, along with the return of $528,618 that they moved to a trust attached to their Florida counsel that Bohm alleged was for a legal “war chest” but his parents contended was to pay the LLCs’ bills.
Daniel and Lisa disputed their son’s allegations in various court filings and moved to dismiss the lawsuit about a month after it was filed. Their legal team attached texts allegedly between Bohm and his parents that detailed conversations about stock purchases and utility payments, along with declarations from Daniel and Lisa in which both parents asserted they did not control his finances. Bohm, however, alleged in the lawsuit that his parents did not provide him with information about investments made on his behalf beyond “purported excerpts of statements” from two brokerage accounts attached to the LLCs. Throughout their filings, Daniel and Lisa argued the case should move to arbitration in Florida — where some of the involved LLCs are incorporated — rather than remaining in Philadelphia, where Bohm has played for the Phillies since his rookie season in 2020.
Alec Bohm with his parents, Lisa and Daniel, during the 2024 All-Star Game festivities. (Rob Tringali / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
The terms of the settlement will remain confidential, per Zarwin Baum’s Gary DeVito. The parties were due to meet for a discovery hearing at 9:30 a.m. ET on Thursday at Philadelphia’s City Hall, but they resolved the matter less than 24 hours beforehand.
The legal teams met for the suit’s sole hearing in May. Bohm’s attorneys from Zarwin Baum sought injunctive relief for the $528,618 held in a trust in Florida and pushed to keep the case in Philadelphia. Daniel and Lisa’s lawyers focused on alleged inconsistencies in Bohm’s recounting of the creation of the Florida-based LLCs. They also zeroed in on the issue of fraud in the inducement versus fraud in the execution in creating the entities.
Bohm’s legal team contended the LLCs’ operating agreements were fraudulent when drawn up, alleging Daniel and Lisa misrepresented their stakes and made it seem as though Bohm fully controlled the entities. Daniel and Lisa’s lawyers argued there must be proof of fraud in the execution rather than fraud in the inducement in order to void these contracts; they said Bohm’s allegations constituted fraud in the inducement and were being represented as fraud in the execution. Bohm’s lawyers disagreed with this argument, citing a Supreme Court ruling stating fraud in the execution can occur when one party is mistaken about the terms due to the author’s fraud.
Judge Michael Erdos ruled discovery could proceed while arbitration was stayed in Florida, but he did not grant injunctive relief via the return of those funds because he felt there was little risk of the money moving. Discovery, which proceeded over the summer, was limited to matters of jurisdiction and questions surrounding the creation of the LLCs.
Even less than a month ago, the parties’ sparring continued in court filings that alleged Bohm had been given notice to appear for a deposition three times and had not shown up. Daniel and Lisa’s legal team pushed for Bohm to give a deposition on July 27 and July 30 — days the Phillies were not in Philadelphia. One late-July court filing also alleged that Daniel and Lisa had to take on part-time jobs such as babysitting and maintenance work to pay their legal fees. This back-and-forth pushed Bohm’s scheduled deposition outside of the initial discovery period; Erdos ultimately extended that window to Aug. 31.
All of this has unfolded in a consequential season for Bohm, who is an impending free agent. After a dreadful start, Bohm has hit his way to a .327/.391/.439 slash line with an .830 OPS in August and become one of the better players in a surging Phillies lineup. He was drafted No. 3 overall by the Phillies in 2018, finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2020, made the All-Star team in 2024, was later benched during the 2024 NLDS and has endured many ups and downs with the club. Bohm knows he might be nearing the end of his time in Philadelphia, so he said he has determined not to be “miserable” — a change in mindset from how he has handled previous struggles.
Bohm, 30, is making $10.2 million in his final year of salary arbitration. He has earned more than $22 million over his major-league career.
The findings would have played a role in whether Erdos ultimately kept the suit in Philadelphia or determined it should move through arbitration in Florida. Instead, the parties have opted to settle. A matter that allegedly began with Bohm asking questions about his finances during the offseason can, at least in the court system, be laid to rest.