Lemieux Sues Penguins Owner

Mario Lemieux sued Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Roger Marino on Friday, claiming the team has not paid him some of the deferred money required as part of his contract.

Lemieux's agent, Tom Reich, said his client was owed more than $1 million.

"There's nothing dramatic about it," Reich said. "He wants to be paid when his monies are due."

The preliminary filing was made in the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas for Allegheny County.

"This is an action brought to obtain payments that were owed under his contract," Reich said. "There have been efforts for months to work it out. This was the next logical step."

Earlier this month, the team reported it will lose about $10 million this season. Lemieux retired after the 1996-97 season, and attendance has dropped ever since. The Penguins sold out just seven of their 41 home games this season, one of which was the night his number was retired.

Lemieux was paid about $5 million in deferred compensation this year. He signed a seven-year, $42 million deal in 1992 that was reworked after the 1994-95 season, which he missed due to Hodgkin's disease, two back operations and other ailments.

Co-owner Howard Baldwin has said the money on the reworked contract remained the same.

Marino has said the expense of paying Lemieux when he wasn't playing hurt the team two ways.

"It hurt in attendance as well as paying an expense that didn't produce," he said.

Marino declined to comment on the filing, saying he had just learned about it.

"Basically, I have to say I don't know anything about it," Marino said. "Maybe as it develops, I'll be able to say more."

The team and Lemieux have been negotiating this season about reworking the deferred part of Lemieux's deal.

Marino, a Boston resident whose personal wealth is estimated at $400 million, joined Baldwin in the ownership group last year to shore up the team's troubled finances.

In a recent lawsuit involving Fox Sports, court papers revealed the team was heavily in debt and that Baldwin has over the years sold off merchandising rights and obtained loans from Fox Sports to help the team.

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