September 10, 2018 Antitrust / Class Actions / Litigation / NCAA

Sparks Fly on Day Two of the NCAA Antitrust Trial

On September 5, 2018, a Stanford University professor, Dr. Roger Noll, testified as an economist expert on behalf of the college athletes in the ongoing NCAA antitrust trial. Dr. Noll criticized the NCAA’s amateurism rules, claiming that college basketball and football is not a “fragile enterprise dependent on how much players get paid.” As we have previously reported, in this particular lawsuit, a class of college athletes are attempting to challenge the existing NCAA amateurism rules and attempting to create an open market for …

September 10, 2018 Antitrust / Class Actions / Litigation / NCAA

NCAA Antitrust Trial Starts With a Bang

On September 4, 2018, University of San Francisco professor, Daniel Rascher, testified as an economist expert on behalf of the college athletes. In his testimony, Rascher likened the NCAA to an illegal “cartel” because to their habitual practice of limiting how much money college athletes could be paid. As we have previously reported, in this particular lawsuit, a class of college athletes are attempting to challenge the existing NCAA amateurism rules and attempting to create an open market for various NCAA schools to …

September 7, 2018 Antitrust / Class Actions / Litigation / NCAA

NCAA Antitrust Bench Trial Set to Begin

On September 4, 2018, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken is set to preside over a bench trail between the NCAA and a group of college athletes who want an injunction placed on NCAA amateurism rules. This lawsuit, brought by a class of college athletes, came in the wake of the O’Bannon decision, where a court held that NCAA rules prohibiting college athlete’s ability to profit from their likenesses were anti-competitive. However, as we have previously reported, the final decision, in O’Bannon, held that …

August 16, 2018 Class Actions / Contract / Litigation / NCAA

Johnnie Vassar Drops Transfer Rule Suit

On August 10, 2018, former Northwestern University guard, Johnnie Vassar, dropped his lawsuit against the NCAA and Northwestern. As we have previously reported, in 2016, Vassar sued the NCAA and Northwestern claiming that Northwestern “offered Vassar a “cash payment” to “make [Vassar] go away and free-up his scholarship.”

According to the November 2016 class-action lawsuit, Vassar alleged that Northwestern breached a contract it had with Vassar after the school removed Vassar’s four-year athletic scholarship in May 2016. Further, Vassar alleged that the school used …

August 3, 2018 Antitrust / Class Actions

UFC Moves for Summary Judgment in Antitrust Class Action

On July 30, Zuffa LLC—parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (“UFC”)—moved for summary judgment, requesting the dismissal of an antitrust suit filed against them by a proposed class of mixed martial arts (“MMA”) fighters. While the MMA fighters allege that the UFC engaged in anti-competitive practices to dominate the MMA industry and restrict fighters’ wages, the UFC counters that there is no evidence of such activity, instead contending that fighters’ wages are increasing.

The action was originally filed in 2014 by fighters Cung …

July 30, 2018 Class Actions / Concussions / Litigation / NHL

Former NHL Players Will Not Appeal

Michael Cashman, a Minnesota lawyer representing former NHL players who filed lawsuits against the NHL, said that the former NHL players would not appeal United States District Judge Susan Richard Nelson’s decision. As we have recently covered, Judge Nelson declined to certify a class of thousands of former NHL players who sued the NHL. The player claimed that the league failed to inform them of the health risks caused by concussions and head-related trauma, even though the league had knowledge of such information. Judge …

July 19, 2018 Class Actions / Concussions / NHL

NHL Players Denied Class Certification

On July 13, 2018, United States District Judge Susan Richard Nelson declined to certify a class of thousands of former NHL players who are suing the NHL. As we have previously reported, several former NHL players sued the NHL claiming 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 players filed for class certification, but Judge Nelson refused to certify the class because the applicable law …

July 16, 2018 Class Actions / Concussions / Litigation

Parents Try To Quash Pop Warner Subpoena

The Sports Law Insider has previously reported on the class-action suit started by parents whose sons played Pop Warner football as children and subsequently were found to suffer from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) after their deaths. The original complaint accused Pop Warner of failing to monitor games, practices, rules, equipment, and medical care to minimize long-term risks associated with brain injuries, failing to accurately diagnose brain injuries, and failing to approve the best equipment available. The complaint also accused USA Football of promoting safety programs …