Promoter Seeks to Collect From Marathon : Jurisprudence: Lieberman gets court order to obtain back payments from organizers of Orange County race.

Fred Lieberman, sports promoter and owner of the Newport Beach Dukes tennis team, has been granted a court order to collect $25,000 in back payments from Orange County Marathon Inc., which put on the event last Nov. 3.

Orange County Superior Court Judge David Brickner signed a writ of execution ordering OCM to pay Lieberman for promotional and marketing services handled by Lieberman’s company, the Bison Design Group of New York. Gerald Shaw, Lieberman’s attorney, said an OCM bank account was attached Friday.

Lieberman signed a two-year agreement with Orange County Marathon promoter Kent Bowen last April, giving Lieberman control--and approximately 80% of the profits--of one-, three- and five-kilometer runs that were to be held in conjunction with the marathon.

But after several disputes over control, Lieberman said he and Bowen terminated the contract and agreed to a settlement of $30,000. Lieberman said he received a payment of $5,000 in November but hasn’t received any monies since.

“I realize now . . . (Bowen) had no intention of honoring (his contracts),” Lieberman said. “And therein lies the sadness. Therein lies what’s wrong with this whole thing--people like that being in business.”

Several calls to OCM’s offices were not returned Friday, and calls to Bowen’s home were not answered.

Lieberman is among many awaiting payment. OCM has yet to pay many of its suppliers, consultants and top runners, including three-time Olympian Steve Scott. Bowen has said his company intends to pay its debts with private funds and money raised through corporate sponsorship for the 1992 race.

Lieberman said he doubts that will happen. The damage for next year’s race has already been done, he said.

“I’m sure the word is already out across the country among the small elite group of runners that the top runners didn’t get paid,” Lieberman said.

“I don’t possibly see how you could see a future. How do you run a business when you don’t pay a guy like Steve Scott $1,000? That’s like me owing Martina Navratilova’s travel expenses.”

Lieberman said the problems were the result of mismanagement.

“I don’t think they did anything maliciously--not at all. (But) I think they should have realized on the third day, they were over their heads. . . . They were absolutely well-intentioned, and probably to this day, they’re well-intentioned. But that doesn’t mean you should be in the business.”

Lieberman said he became frustrated when he realized Bowen was exaggerating how many runners he had registered in the marathon. Lieberman said race director Michael Marckx, who resigned in December, told him last July that 193 runners registered.

The next day, Lieberman said, Bowen told him 912 had signed up. OCM officials said they expected approximately 12,000 runners on race day. The announced figure Nov. 3 was about 4,000, but the actual figure appeared considerably less.

“To this day, I believe he had 700 runners,” Lieberman said. “Why say 12,000 when you can’t come close? To this day, I can’t understand that.”