A protracted and contentious legal battle between a prominent sports agent and his former business partners, both celebrated Olympic athletes, has been quietly resolved. The case, which spanned three years and involved claims exceeding £1.2 million, was withdrawn just months after the agent stepped down from the company that initiated the lawsuit.
The dispute centered on the Stellar Athletics agency, a partnership formed in the early 2000s between agent Jonathan Barnett and retired sprinters John Regis and Jennifer Stoute. The agency represented numerous elite British track and field stars. The partnership fractured in 2021 when Regis and Stoute resigned, taking the agency’s roster of athletes to establish a rival firm, Astra Partners.
Following their departure, Stellar Athletics, with Barnett as a signatory, pursued a high court claim. It alleged the former partners owed nearly £1 million for funds drawn beyond their agreed profit share over two decades, plus additional damages related to their competitive new venture. Regis and Stoute countered that the drawings were legitimate salary and expense payments, authorized and understood as non-repayable.
A deeper point of contention was the sale of Barnett’s larger Stellar Group to a major American talent agency in 2020 for a reported $100 million. Regis and Stoute asserted they had entered the original partnership with Barnett on the understanding they would receive a portion of the proceeds from any future sale of the business—a claim the company denied. They stated they were informed of the sale only after it was completed and received no share.
Attempts at negotiation failed, and the case appeared headed for trial. However, the legal landscape shifted dramatically earlier this year. Sources indicate the settlement was reached shortly after lawyers for Regis and Stoute notified the opposing side of the discovery of numerous offensive text messages, containing racist, sexist, and homophobic content, on an old mobile phone number registered to Barnett. The messages were reportedly sent to that number by other figures in sport. There is no suggestion Barnett authored or endorsed the messages.
In the wake of this development, Barnett resigned from his executive role at the parent company, CAA Stellar. New legal counsel from the United States subsequently took over the case and agreed to withdraw all claims in April 2024. No party admitted liability, and each side covered its own legal costs.
Reflecting on the ordeal, Stoute described it as “three years of torture,” expressing initial excitement about the company sale that turned to dismay when they faced a multi-million-pound lawsuit instead of a payout. Regis emphasized the financial and emotional toll, stating they were “relieved” when the claim was finally dropped.
The resolution allows both former Olympians to speak publicly about the case, as the settlement did not include a confidentiality clause.