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Baseball / Labor & Employment / Litigation / MLB

White Sox’s Move to Dismiss Dustin Fowler’s Negligence Suit

On February 13, 2018, the Chicago White Sox moved to dismiss a suit brought by brought by former New York Yankees outfielder, Dustin Fowler. Fowler, now a member of the Oakland Athletics, sued the White Sox claiming that the team negligently caused him to injure himself during a game at Guaranteed Rate Field, home of the White Sox. The incident occurred on June 29, 2017, when Fowler was running at full speed, chasing a foul ball, and crashed into the low corner wall. His right …

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Litigation

Reebok-CCM Fights Last Minute Depositions

On February 14, 2018, the hockey equipment company, Reebok-CCM Hockey (CCM), filed an opposition motion to Hefter Impact Technologies, LLC (Hefter) Emergency Motion. In their Emergency Motion, Hefter argued that they should be allowed to depose six people, including Pittsburg Penguins’ star Sidney Crosby, even though a scheduling order originally stated that all depositions must be completed by September 30, 2016. In opposition, CCM argued that Hefter should not be allowed to retake/take six depositions on the eve of trial simply because they characterized the …

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NCAA

NCAA Bribery Suit Continues Less One Defendent

The NCAA corruption and bribery case is still ongoing, though now with one less defendant. We recently reported on a motionfiled February 9, 2018, in which the defendants moved to suppress evidence arising from an allegedly flawed warrant application by the United States Attorney’s Office. Also on February 9, and in further progression of the case, a federal judge complied with a request by federal prosecutors to dismiss the charges against defendant Jonathan Brad Augustine, former director of an Adidas-sponsored travel basketball organization called …

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NCAA

Judge Denies Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss in NCAA Corruption/Bribery Case

On February 15, 2018, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan denied defendants, Christian Dawkins, Jim Gatto, and Merl Code, motion to dismiss corruption and bribery charges. As we have previously reported, Adidas executive Jim Gatto, Adidas contractor Merl Code, and sports business manager Christian Dawkins were accused of facilitating six-figure payments to basketball players and their families in exchange for promises that the players would enroll in Adidas sponsored NCAA Division I schools and later would hire Dawkins.

In their motion to dismiss, Gatto, Code, and …

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Concussions / NHL

NHL Moves to Bar Testimony of Four Expert Witnesses in Concussion Litigation

On February 9, 2018, two proposed classes of NHL players asked U.S. District Court Judge Susan Richard Nelson not to bar expert testimony of four experts. The players argued that the experts provided necessary information that is pertinent to their lawsuit. The suit began when former NHL players claimed that the NHL failed to inform them of the health risks caused by concussions and head-related trauma even though the league had knowledge of such information.

The NHL argued that epidemiologist Dr. R. Dawn Comstock’s opinions …

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Fraud / NFL

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Move to Dismiss Expert in Negligence and Fraud Claims

On February 7, 2018, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by former player, Lazarius Pep Levingston. Levingston sued the team and its Director of Football Operations, Mike Greenburg, for negligence and fraud, alleging that the team concealed the extent of Levingston’s injures in order to give Levingston a smaller settlement. In August 2013, Levingston suffered a neck injury in a pre-season football game. The team informed Levingston that he had a “cervical strain/sprain, thoracic sprain/contusion, and shoulder contusion.” He …

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Litigation / NFL

NFL and NFLPA Move to Stop Former Agent’s Antitrust Claim

On February 5, 2018, the NFL, and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), filed a motion to dismiss an antitrust suit brought by former sports agent James Dickey. As we have previously covered, Dickey accused the NFL and the NFLPA of stifling competition by implementing a rule called the “Three Year Rule” to keep new agents out of the NFL. In order for an agent to represent players the must be certified. To be certified, agents must negotiate at least one NFL team contract every …

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NCAA

Filing Mistake Could Cost Government in NCAA Corruption/Bribery Case

On February 9, 2018, defendants in the NCAA corruption and bribery case filed a motion to suppress key government evidence. The motion outlines several procedural breaches, the most important is the claim of “a failure to identify the authorizing justice official” in paperwork to obtain a warrant for a wiretap. On April 7, 2017, a court issued an order permitting the federal government to wiretap Munish Sood’s cellphone for thirty days. The goal of the wiretap was to target communications between Mr. Sood and Christian …

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Litigation

Syracuse University and Women’s Lacrosse Coach Motion to Dismiss Denied

On February 9, 2018, the New York Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department (Appellate Court) affirmed a lower court’s ruling, which denied Gary Gait and Syracuse University’s motion to dismiss Addy Tauro’s suit. Ms. Tauro, a former varsity women’s lacrosse player at Syracuse University, sued her former coach, Mr. Gait, and Syracuse University after Ms. Tauro was allegedly injured at a lacrosse practice on October 8, 2013. According to Ms. Tauro’s complaint, she was struck in the head with a lacrosse ball that Mr. Gait …

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NCAA

Judge Delays NCAA $75 Million Settlement for the Second Time

On February 6, 2018, U.S. District Judge John Lee again delayed final approval of a $75 million settlement after he learned thousands of current and former NCAA student-athletes have still yet to be notified of the settlement. Judge Lee expressed his frustration with the notification process, and he once again delayed finial approval given that nearly 13,000 class members have not yet learned about the case and its proposed settlement. The $75 million dollar settlementwas initially approved by Judge Lee in July 2017. Seventy …

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