Going for the Green: Investors Seek Win in Second Circuit

In 2014, shareholders of the for-profit corporation Winged Foot Holding Company (WFHC) filed suit alleging the company had breached its fiduciary duty under New York Business Corporation Law Section 720 and unjustly enriched itself. This suit stems from the WFHC Directors’ 2013 extension of a 1947 lease agreement to use the golf club grounds. Under the lease agreement, the annual rental payment is $30,000.

In their complaint, filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the shareholders alleged that WFHC’s …

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Second Circuit Throws Ex-NFL Player’s Marijuana De-Scheduling Lawsuit into Peril

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals told ex-NFL player Marvin Washington and other medical marijuana patients that it would not give them more time to ask the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to de-schedule marijuana.

In 2017, Washington and a group of cannabis patients sued then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, seeking marijuana legalization at the federal level. While numerous states have legalized both medical and recreational marijuana, it is still illegal under federal law, where it is classified as a Schedule I drug alongside heroin and LSD. …

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City of Oakland Strikes Back Against NFL, Claiming It Forces Host Cities to Make a “Hobson’s Choice”

In a lawsuit over the Oakland Raiders’ relocation to Las Vegas, the city of Oakland has argued that the NFL has forced it and other host cities to make a “Hobson’s choice”: either pay excessive prices to keep an NFL team, or lose the team altogether.

As we reported in December 2018, the city of Oakland sued the NFL and all of its 32 teams over the decision to relocate the Raiders to Las Vegas, claiming that the league violated its own policies in addition …

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Pausing the Game: Take-Two Seeks to Pause WWE Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive has told an Illinois federal court that it wants to pause a tattoo artist’s copyright infringement lawsuit, as a ruling on a pending summary judgment motion could decide the case.

As we reported last year, tattoo artist Catherine Alexander filed a lawsuit against Take-Two and World Wrestling Entertainment, alleging that they infringed on her copyright. Between 2003 and 2008, Alexander created several unique tattoos for WWE superstar Randy Orton. While WWE allegedly offered Alexander $450,000 for the rights to use …

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Former Football Players Fight Back, Tell Ninth Circuit That NFL Was Directly Involved in Painkiller Lawsuit

In a lawsuit where former NFL players accused the league of doping them with amphetamines and painkillers, the players have responded to the NFL’s effort to end their appeal in the Ninth Circuit.

As we reported earlier, former Chicago Bears players Richard Dent and Jim McMahon sued the NFL in 2014, claiming that the league facilitated the use of opioids, anesthetics, and drugs like Toradol without prescriptions, violating the Controlled Substances Act . While their lawsuit was initially dismissed by a district court for being …

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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 …

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NHL Fails to Secure Quick Exit From Concussion Litigation

On Wednesday, March 25, Federal Judge Susan Nelson denied the NHL’s motion to dismiss the class action concussion injury lawsuit brought against it by former NHL players.

Several different complaints against the NHL were consolidated last October in which six former players, seeking to represent all players living and deceased, argue that the NHL failed to inform them of the health risks caused by concussions and head-related trauma though the league had knowledge, research, and resources of such information.  The allegations mostly follow the lead …

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Court Nixes NCAA-PSU’s Attempt to Dismiss Lawsuit over $60M Fine

A Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court denied the NCAA’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by state Senator Jake Corman and Treasurer Rob McCord.  The suit is seeking to enforce the 2012 Higher Education Monetary Penalty Endowment Act (the “Act”) on the $60 million fine imposed on Penn State (“PSU”).  In the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal, the NCAA in 2012 imposed the penalty as part of a consent decree.  Under the Act, the NCAA fine must be used to prevent child sexual abuse …

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