LATEST INSIGHTS

Legislation / MLB / NBA / NFL / NHL

Bill Ending Antitrust Exemptions for Pro Sports Leagues Introduced

A bill to end the current permanent antitrust exemptions of the four major professional sports leagues was introduced by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. on December 2.

Titled the Sustained Promotion of Responsibility in Team Sports Act (SPORTS), the bill would remove permanent antitrust exemptions for NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA one year from the bill’s enactment and replace it with a reauthorization process every five years.  According to the SPORTS Act, ninety-five days before ending the exemption, Congress would have an up-down vote on a …

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Concussions / NCAA

Former High School QB: Fix Patchy Implementation of Concussion Protocol

Daniel Bukal, a former high school quarterback, has filed a lawsuit against the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), arguing that the athletic body insufficiently has managed concussions sustained by young football players. Bukal alleged he suffers from migraines and memory loss because of several concussions he had while playing football for Notre Dame College Prep from 1999 to 2003.

The lawsuit seeks remedies similar to a plan proposed in a concussion lawsuit against NCAA that was settled in July. Bukal proposes the IHSA to set …

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Antitrust / TV

NHL Says No Common Question, No Common Answer, No Class Certification

In a court document released last week, NHL, Comcast, and others urged that the court should not grant a class certification to a group of TV broadcasting service subscribers who brought an antitrust action.  The defendants including NHL, Comcast, MLB and others argued that since the plaintiffs had failed to show common impact with common evidence, granting a class certification was not proper.

In 2012, the subscribers commenced the suit alleging that the restrictions imposed by the NHL and MLB on local TV broadcasters are …

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NBA

NBA Leads in Gender Equity

On the National Basketball Association’s (NBA’s) opening night this past Tuesday, the defending champions, the San Antonio Spurs, made a historical win with the help of their new assistant coach, Becky Hammon. When Hammon was hired to the Spurs in early August, she became the first paid female assistant coach in the NBA, or any major American professional sport.

Just weeks prior to Hammon’s hiring, Michele Roberts became the first woman elected as the executive director of the NBA Players Union. This occasion also marked …

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Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark / NFL

Redskins Suit Against Native Americans over Trademarks Goes Forward

A federal judge in Virginia decided to hear the Redskins’ suit against a group of Native Americans over the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s decision to cancel the Redskins trademark registrations.

In a suit brought by a Native American before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) decided in June to cancel the Redskins six trademark registrations because the name was “disparaging to Native Americans.”  The team filed a federal lawsuit to overturn that decision.

Following the Redskins …

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Litigation

NYC Exotic Dancers Entitled to More than $10M in Unpaid Wages

In a class-action lawsuit brought by about 1,900 exotic dancers, a federal judge in New York ruled Rick’s Cabaret, a strip club in Midtown Manhattan, should pay more than $10 million to the plaintiffs.  The lawsuit was filed four years ago by the dancers to recover unpaid wages from 2005-2012.  The decision follows a ruling from the same court last year that the dancers were considered hourly employees, not independent contractors as their employer argued.  The case is ready for trial in which jury …

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Contract / Music

Lady Gaga’s Former Producer to Pay Talent Scout $7.3M

US District Court in New Jersey ruled that Rob Fusari, Gaga’s former producer and business partner, must pay Wendy Starland, a woman who discovered Gaga, $7.3 million pursuant to their compensation agreement signed in 2005.

The agreement required Starland to find “an artist under the age of 25 who could be the female equivalent to the lead singer of the Strokes.”  According to Starland, she attended about 50 live performances and conducted online search for an artist who was “edgy and bold.”

After Starland …

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Concussions / Litigation / NFL

Fairness Hearing on NFL Concussion Settlement Concluded

On November 19, the opponents of the NFL concussion settlement had their last chance to object the deal before a U.S. District Judge Anita Brody.

The main argument for the opponents was that the cash award was limited to players who died with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (“CTE”) during a relatively small window of years.  Under the current plan, only players who were diagnosed with CTE before July 2014 would be eligible for up to $4 million.  Additionally, the diagnostic tests to determine eligibility for some …

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Boxing / Contract

Punches After the Bell

Pacquiao’s Hoops Debut Highlights a Possible Grey Area as to Contractual Prohibitions on Dangerous Activities: Usually known for making headlines as one of the best professional boxers on the planet, Manny (Pac Man) Pacquiao instead made headlines after making his professional basketball debut a month before his November 23, 2014 decision victory of Chris Algieri for the WBO Welterweight Title.  On October 20, 2014, Pacquiao started for the KIA Sorrento team of the Philippine Basketball Association,  but only played for seven minutes before sitting …

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Litigation / NCAA

Law Professors Support NCAA’s Appeal in O’Bannon Case

On November 21, fifteen law professors filed an amicus brief with the Ninth Circuit Court in support of the NCAA in its O’Bannon appeal.

The fifteen antitrust law professors argued that U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilkin’s decision that the NCAA violated antitrust law was a misapplication of the “less-restrictive alternative prong” of the relevant analysis.

Referring to the “limited appellate authority” in defining the scope of the less-restrictive alternative, the professors stated that if the Circuit Court affirms Judge Wilkin’s judgment, it “would substantially expand …

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