Brian Bowen Sr. Admits To Taking Cash to Secure His Son’s Commitment to Louisville

On October 9, 2018, Brian Bowen Sr., the father of a Louisville Cardinals’ recruit, took the stand to testify in the FBI’s case regarding corruption in college basketball. Federal prosecutors assert that it is a federal crime to break NCAA rules and is charging two Adidas officials an NBA agent with accusations that they brokered a deal to pay families of recruits to secure a commitment to Adidas-sponsored teams.

According to federal prosecutors, Adidas officials and others conspired to pay Bowen’s family $100,000

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Texas Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Golf Channel Ponzi Scheme Question

In 2012, R. Allen Stanford, a former financier and professional sports sponsor, was convicted of various fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy charges based on his role as the head of massive Ponzi scheme.  His more than $7 billion certificate of deposit fraud landed him in prison for 110 years.  Since that time, a court-appointed receiver has been attempting to recover the money from various sources.

While the fraud was ongoing, it got so large that Stanford used mass marketing to get the word out about …

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Amazon Investigated For E-Book Antitrust Violations

Oh how the tables have turned for retail giant Amazon.com.  Three years ago, Amazon pushed for an antitrust investigation of Apple for e-book price fixing.  Now, however, regulators in the European Union have opened an e-book anti-trust investigation into Amazon.

On June 11, 2015 the European Commission announced that it was formally investigating Amazon’s business practices related to its e-book business.  Of particular focus are Amazon’s contracts with European publishers.  Under the terms of those agreements, publishers are required to inform Amazon if the publishers …

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New Suit by Retirees Alleges NFL was Pushing Pain Pills

Yet another suit was filed against the NFL by former players on Thursday May 21. This time, the retired players are accusing all 32 NFL teams of intentionally providing players will painkillers and pushing the players to use them. This suit repeats some of the allegations in a suit filed in May 2014, which was ultimately dismissed because of the collective bargaining agreement.

The new suit names each of the NFL teams as a defendant and 13 retired players as plaintiffs. It is, however, brought …

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8th Circuit Affirms NFL Player Publicity Settlement

On Thursday May 21, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit affirmed a 2013 settlement between NFL retirees and the NFL. A group of former players brought suit against the NFL seeking to be compensated for the use of their images.

The $50 million settlement received final approval of a Minnesota federal judge in November 2013, despite the objection of 19 players. Some of those players appealed and echoed their contentions that the settlement was unfair to the Eighth Circuit. Their main argument …

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NFL Concussion Settlement Objectors Seek Broader Amendments

On Monday April 14, 2015, a group of former NFL players raised another round of objections in the class action concussion lawsuit against the NFL. The 28 former players who objected to the initial $765 million settlement, contend that an amended settlement is also deficient.

The initial settlement was preliminarily approved in July 2014. However, upon the suggestion of Judge Anita B. Brody, in February, the NFL amended the settlement, paying particular attention to coverage for the families of CTE sufferers. The amended settlement now …

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Dreyfuss Wants Disney to Open Its Books

On April 9, Richard Dreyfuss filed suit against Walt Disney Pictures claiming that Disney has wrongfully refused him access to its books.  The Oscar winner says he wants to know if Disney owes him money for his work in What About Bob?.

In the seven count complaint, Dreyfuss and Turner & Hooch producer Raymond Wagner’s widow contend, among other things, that Disney has breached their contracts by refusing them the opportunity to audit the books.  The pair claims that Disney will not allow …

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MGM “Knocks Out” Raging Bull Lawsuit with Settlement

Last year, we reported that the U.S. Supreme Court revived a longstanding copyright infringement lawsuit over the 1980 hit movie “Raging Bull.”  The suit was initially brought in 2009 when Paula Petrella, the daughter of Frank Petrella, alleged that MGM and 20th Century Fox (“MGM”) infringed on her father’s copyrights in a number of works written about the life of boxer Jake LaMotta.

Paula first became aware of her right to sue in the early 90’s based on a Supreme Court case related to …

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TSN Broadcasts Inappropriate Trade Deadline Tweet Sparking Legal Controversy

On Monday March 2, TSN mistakenly rebroadcast a distasteful tweet about Toronto Maple Leafs players Joffrey Lupul, Dion Phaneuf, and Pheneuf’s wife – actress Elisha Cutherbert.  Now, the rebroadcast could cost TSN and the tweet’s author a “significant amount.”

TSN is a Canadian sports television network, widely known for its coverage of hockey and the NHL.  On Monday, the network was broadcasting live coverage of the NHL’s trade deadline on a segment called TradeCentre.  It encouraged viewers to live tweet their thoughts and comments using …

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Years Later, Testing Reveals Mosi Tatupu Had CTE

More than four years after his 2010 death, the family of Mosi Tatupu learned that the former New England Patriots running back suffered from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).  CTE is a degenerative brain disease linked to repetitive head injuries such as those sustained by football players.

Tatupu was a fan favorite among Patriots fans during his thirteen season career with the team. It’s no surprise either; he was loved by teammates, was always smiling and developed his own fan section – “Mosi’s Mooses.”  Yet, his …

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