Author: Joseph M. Hanna

Joseph M. Hanna is the founder and chair of Goldberg Segalla’s Sports and Entertainment Practice Group and editor of the Sports and Entertainment Law Insider blog. With a national practice and industry-wide reputation for leadership, Joe is consistently ranked among the top 10 attorneys based in Western New York in Business First’s annual Legal Elite, and in 2015, Joe was the youngest honoree ever to be named Lawyer of the Year in the Bar Association of Erie County’s 130-year history. He was named a Rising Star by Law360 in 2014 and is also a member of the Mediator Panel for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.

September 4, 2015 Golf

Titleist’s Golf Ball IP Litigation: Is There a Dimple Threatening the Case?

An action filed in Spring 2015 by Acushnet, manufacturer of Titleist golf balls, sued ten direct-sale golf companies for patent infringement. The plaintiff alleged that the defendants were selling golf balls using Titleist’s “triangular dipyramid dimple pattern.” The pattern has 318 dimples made up of three different dimple sizes and arranged in a particular triangular pattern.

The link between the defendants is that each company purchased their golf balls from the same Taiwanese company before reselling them to customers through direct internet sales. …

September 4, 2015 Antitrust / NHL

The NHL Broadcasting Antitrust Case: The Effect of the Settlement Agreement on Viewer Options

On Tuesday September 1, 2015 the NHL’s settlement agreement with the plaintiffs in the broadcast antitrust lawsuit was approved by the federal judge. The action was initially filed in 2012, and the settlement was presented to the judge for approval this past June.

NHL games are broadcast both on television and over internet streaming. In recent years, fans choosing to watch games over television broadcasting have had two viewing options. Through the first option, viewers could watch their local market’s team through the local …

September 3, 2015 NFL

Improper Notice and Arbitrary Discipline: Brady Says to Goodell, “Can’t Touch This”

On Thursday September 3, 2015 Judge Richard Berman, federal district court judge in the Southern District of New York and the adjudicator of the Tom Brady Deflategate scandal, issued a decision and order in the litigation between Brady and the National Football League. The lawsuit concerned the legality of the quarterback’s four-game suspension. Ultimately, Judge Berman reversed the NFL’s arbitration decision to suspend Brady; meaning, unless an emergency injunction is approved by the appellate court, Brady will be available to play in the Patriots’ Week …

September 2, 2015 NFL

Tom Brady & Deflategate: Goodbye Settlement, Hello Appeal?

On Monday August 31^st, 2015 Tom Brady and the NFL met for their final settlement conference with the district court judge in the Deflategate litigation. Following the 2014 NFL Season, the league suspended quarterback Tom Brady for four games in relation to his alleged involvement with the impermissible deflation of footballs. The two parties did not reach a settlement agreement on Monday, however, which may show that both sides believe they have put forth a compelling case.

Nevertheless, in the end, the failure …

September 2, 2015 Antitrust / Boxing / Litigation

Golden Boy Promotions v. Haymon: Who is the Real Double-Dipper?

This past May, boxing promotion company Golden Boy Promotions LLC filed an antitrust action against Alan Haymon, a manager for various boxers, including Floyd Mayweather. The action claims that Haymon violated the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, and several state laws, alleging that the manager acted as both a manager of boxers and a boxing promoter to monopolize American boxing. Laws such as the Ali Act are intended to separate boxing promotion from management so that fiduciary duties owed to …

September 1, 2015 Concussions / Litigation / NHL

To Preempt or Not to Preempt: The Boogaard Wrongful Death Action v. the NHL

In recent weeks, the NHL has busily defended two cases involving the league’s alleged liability for player safety issues. Although the plaintiffs in each individual case have filed distinguishable allegations against the league, discovery in the two suits may become intertwined.

The first case is a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in which the plaintiffs — former NHL players — have claimed that the league is liable for their concussion-related medical problems. In the second case, the plaintiffs, parents of the late Derek Boogaard, alleged that the …

August 31, 2015 Litigation

Former Publishing Partner of ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Entitled To Share Profit

A Texas state judge ordered the publisher of “Fifty Shades of Grey” to set aside $10 million for the publisher’s former partner, Jennifer Pedroza, after the jury found that she was entitled to her share of the book’s royalty rights.

In her order, State District Judge Susan McCoy ordered the money be deposited in a court registry by September 25 as negotiations for a judgment amount take place for Pedroza.

In her case against Amanda Hayward and TWCS Operations Proprietary Ltd., Pedroza claimed that Hayward …

August 28, 2015 General

New Jersey Sports Betting Denied Yet Again

The Third Circuit appeals court in Philadelphia rejected New Jersey’s recent attempt to legalize sports betting by denying their appeal of a lower ruling, finding a violation of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992.

Last October, New Jersey repealed the prohibition on sports betting activity only in racetrack’s and casinos. A district court, however, granted the NFL and NCAA an injunction to stop any attempt at betting while the case was pending. The court then found repealing the prohibition violates the PASPA. …

August 27, 2015 NFL

NFLPA: Tom Brady Should’ve Been Fined, Not Suspended

In a letter to U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Berman, NFL Players Association lawyer Jeffrey Kessler argued that Tom Brady should have been fined, not suspended, as required by the league’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Furthermore, Kessler claimed that even if the suspension was in compliance with the CBA, it is still inappropriate because Brady was not given a notice of his suspension in advance.

Kessler’s letter is a response to a filing by the NFL arguing that courts have the authority to …

August 26, 2015 Litigation / NFL

Super Bowl Seating Battle Not Over Yet: Ticket Holders Appeal

Despite their win that awarded $75,000 in March, Super Bowl XLV ticket holders are appealing the trial court decision. In a court document filed on August 21 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the ticket holders are asking the appeals court to overturn the district judge’s pretrial rulings.

The ticket-holder appellants claim that the district court judge erred in denying class certification to those who were completely deprived of their seats and others who were relocated to seats with obstructed views.…