Deflategate Appeal: NFL Files Opening Brief with Second Circuit

On Monday, October 26, 2015, the National Football League (NFL) filed its opening brief with United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit requesting that the district court’s “Deflategate” ruling be overturned.

The original decision, issued by District Court Judge Richard Berman, reversed the NFL’s 4 game suspension of Patriot’s quarterback Tom Brady. The NFL superstar was alleged to have been involved in a scandal to deflate footballs. In reversing Brady’s suspension, Judge Berman held that the NFL did not provide Brady with …

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Lamar Odom & HIPAA: A Kardashian Takeaway for Employers

This post first appeared on Goldberg Segalla’s Professional Liability Matters blog. 

Reality television fans and others were saddened recently when news of a Kardashian family member’s overdose hit the news.  Lamar Odom, sometime beau of Khloe Kardashian, was hospitalized after the incident, and his privacy was reportedly violated when staffers at the medical center where he was treated took pictures of him.  The staffers were immediately fired due to this conduct. Lamar’s plight contains a teachable lesson for those employers who must comply with the …

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Uncertainty Looms for Arizona Cardinals’ Stadium Bond Holders

Over the past year, operators of University of Phoenix Stadium — home of the National Football League’s Arizona Cardinals — have lost two lawsuits over the legality of its rental-car taxes used to fund the stadium.

Back in 2000, Arizona’s legislature issued bonds for funding backed by a number of sources (which also included an agent from Winnie Dodge Dealership), with a car rental tax making up about one-third of revenue. Arizona voters approved the car rental tax, and the stadium was completed in …

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Hulk Hogan Takes First Bout Against Gawker

On Wednesday, October 21, 2015, a Florida state judge granted former WWE star Hulk Hogan the opportunity to search private electronic communications of employees of Gawker Media LLC, which is being sued by Hogan for intentionally leaking confidential and racist remarks made by the wrestler. The incident stems from the $100 million lawsuit filed by Hogan for Gawker’s role in allegedly releasing and covering the publication of a sex tape involving Hogan in 2012.

The famed-wrestler believes that employees of Gawker intentionally released information that …

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PA Horse Racing Industry Threatened With Suspension

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf recently announced that he may shut down horse racing in the state as of October 30, 2015.

The announcement comes as a result of a budget standoff regarding funding for racetracks. Pennsylvania’s Department of Agriculture provides oversight of the horse racing industry, which includes the funding for horse drug testing. Tom Wolf’s proposed budget would have the industry picking up the tab for the drug testing, which could save the state $7-9 million per year.

According the Department of Agriculture, revenue …

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House Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. Requests Info From DraftKings, Fanduel

In September 2015, before the DraftKings-FanDuel scandal had even occurred, House Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) voiced his concerns about the two daily fantasy sports betting (DFS) websites, which rapidly became billion-dollar industries over the last year.  He urged the U.S. Congress for a congressional hearing into the legality of DFS.

In a September 14, 2015 letter to House Republicans, Pallone stated that DFS “sites are enormously popular, arguably central to the fans’ experience, and professional leagues are seeing the enormous profits as a result.”  …

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NHL Wants to Keep Concussion Lawsuit in the Courtroom, Not in the Media

On Wednesday, October 21, 2015, the National Hockey League filed an official opposition in a Minnesota federal court against the release of what they believe to be privileged documents to the public. In its memorandum of law, the league argues against the “de-designation” of confidential documents sought after by the plaintiffs, who are made up of a class of former NHLers bringing suit to recover under a theory that they suffer, or are at risk of continued medical complications, due to sustained head trauma while …

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DraftKings Hires Former Mass. AG as New Regulations Appear Imminent

In the weeks following the DraftKings-FanDuel daily fantasy sports betting (DFS) scandal, the two companies have maintained their business directions, continuing operations in 44 U.S. states.  On Monday October 19, 2015, however, DraftKings confirmed that it hired former Massachusetts attorney General Martha Coakley as an outside legal advisor on legislative and regulatory matters.

Massachusetts is a state that, in the opinion of many legal commentators, is firmly supportive of DFS operations as they currently operate.  Coakley was the attorney general for Massachusetts in 2011 …

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NFL and DirecTV’s “Sunday Ticket” Subject of Antitrust Lawsuit

On Friday, October 16, 2015, five plaintiffs brought suit against the NFL, its 32 teams, DirecTV, CBS, NBC, Fox, and ESPN, alleging that current NFL broadcasting agreements violate the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

The plaintiffs allege that DirecTV’s “NFL Sunday Ticket” stifles competition and unfairly raises prices. Currently, the NFL Sunday Ticket — an out-of-market sports package — is the only way for viewers to watch regular season games outside of the limited games available on CBS, NBC, Fox, NFL Network, and ESPN. This, the plaintiffs …

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Copyright Lawsuit Hits Top-Rated TV Show “Empire”

Ron Newt, author of “Bigger than Big,” filed suit in April against 20th Century Fox for breach of implied contract and copyright infringement. The poorly drafted summons and complaint was not taken seriously by Fox until it was recently amended by Newt’s new legal team. The amended complaint is now alleging $10 million in damages and has been edited sufficiently, to warrant a response from 20th Century Fox.

By way of background, Newt authored “Bigger than Big”, a book, screenplay and DVD documentary …

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