Tennessee Titans’ Taylor Lewan Settles Charges Before Trial

Rookie Offensive Tackle for the Tennessee Titans Taylor Lewan settled his three pending assault charges during a pretrial conference on Thursday. Lewan’s trial was set to begin on Monday, the 27^th.

Taylor Lewan was facing one misdemeanor assault and two misdemeanor assault and battery charges arising from an altercation last December in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Hours after losing his last game as a Michigan Wolverine to Ohio State, Lewan allegedly hit ttwo men outside a restaurant known as the Brown Jug. Lewan claims …

October 26, 2014 NCAA

Plaintiffs’ Lawyers for O’Bannon Case Billing NCAA for over $50M

Lawyers for the plaintiffs in the O’Bannon case have filed an amended billing filing on October 22 to seek approximately $50 million in attorneys’ fees and other related costs.

The filing is a revision of what the lawyers filed back in August pursuant to U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken’s decision that the plaintiffs “shall recover their costs from the NCAA.” You can get more information regarding that by Clicking Here. The original request that totaled more than $52.4 million was filed within 14 …

October 26, 2014 Boxing / Doping

Punches After the Bell

Ortiz Knocks Himself Out of First Round Knock Out Win: Undefeated heavyweight contender Luis (King Kong) Ortiz appeared to have served notice of his arrival on the world stage back on September 11, 2014 with a first-round knockout of Lateef Kayode. The win earned him the WBC’s Interim Heavyweight Championship. In December, however, the Nevada State Athletic Commission sustained Ortiz for 8 months from the date of fight, changed the win to a “no contest,” fined him 10 percent of his purse, and compelled …

October 26, 2014 Litigation / NCAA

NCAA & Division I Schools are Named in FLSA Lawsuit

On Monday, October 20, the NCAA and all of its member schools were named defendants in an FLSA action alleging violations for failure to pay employees the federal minimum wage. The plaintiff in this action is yet another former student-athlete seeking compensation for participating in NCAA athletics.

Samantha Sackos attended the University of Houston and played for the Division I women’s soccer team. Sackos brought this suit, naming the NCAA and each Div. I school, alleging the schools’ refusal to pay student-athletes under the …

October 25, 2014 Contract / Litigation

Oklahoma State Sues Former O-Line Coach for Breach of Contract

Oklahoma State is suing its former offensive line coach, Joe Wickline, for damages resulting from a breach of contract caused by Wickline’s new job with the Texas Longhorns.

Last Friday, the suit was filed in district court alleging the parties entered into a contract requiring Wickline to pay a buy-out fee if he ever left the OK State for a position at another bowl division team that didn’t contain play calling duties. In January, Wickline was hired by Texas as offensive coordinator and offensive …

October 25, 2014 Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark / TV

Goodfellas Actor Suing The Simpsons Maker for $250M over ‘Louie’ Character

Frank Sivero, who played a mobster role in the 1990 mobster film Goodfellas, sued Fox Television Studios (“Fox”) for $250 million, claiming the ‘Louie’ character in its long-running popular cartoon show The Simpsons was based on his interpretation of ‘Frankie Carbone’ in Goodfellas.

In a suit filed yesterday, Sivero argued that “The Simpsons’ continued use of [his] image and likeness for commercial purposes are all done without [his] consent and without compensating [him].” Sivero claimed his rights were violated under California’s publicity …

October 24, 2014 Fraud / NCAA

UNC Academic Fraud Report Released: 18 years of easy A’s

On Wednesday, October 22, the report documenting an eight month in-depth investigation of alleged academic fraud at the University of North Carolina was released implicating over 3,000 students during 18 years of NCAA competition.

The report, authored by former federal prosecutor, Kenneth Wainstein, exposes a practice engaged in by counselors and teachers to protect student-athletes from academic requirements affecting their eligibility in competition. Student-athletes were ushered into certain “paper classes” that required little to no work, attendance, or participation for a good grade.

The scandal …

October 24, 2014 Contract / NCAA

What’s Next, Civil Litigation Against Sports Memorabilia Dealers for Improper Dealings with College-Athletes?

Your favorite college football team loses its star quarterback or running back due to a suspension for NCAA violations related to compensation received from a sports memorabilia dealer for autographing multiple items that the dealer sells. The college suffers damage in the form of potential lost ticket sales, merchandising, bowl revenue, and negative publicity. Does the university have any recourse against the dealer who stands outside the reach of NCAA oversight but who profits from the offending transactions?

NCAA Bylaw 12.5.2.1 prohibits student-athletes from accepting …

October 23, 2014 Golf / Litigation

World No.1 Golfer Out for Now to Prepare for Trial Against Horizon

According to the Irish Independent, Rory McIlroy will take a break from golf to handle his legal problems against Horizon Sports Management (“Horizon”). Currently, McIlroy plans to skip the BMW Masters and the WGC-HBC Champions. He expects to be back in the game in late November when the World Tour Championship starts in Dubai.

In 2013, McIlroy brought a suit against his former management company Horizon, claiming that his agreement signed in 2011 was invalid due to alleged undue influence. He claimed that the company …

October 22, 2014 Intellectual Property / Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark / Music / Trademark

Duluth Trading Company Takes it Easy and Don Henley Takes Them to Court

Maybe Duluth Trading Company should’ve known better. Maybe it was just living life in the advertising fast lane. But on October 6, 2014, the Wisconsin clothing company circulated an ad to its customers imploring them to “Don a Henley and Take it Easy.” The “Henley” the ad refers to is the famous, three-button long sleeve shirt that has become a symbol of relaxation and “cool” since it was first placed on store racks. But in invoking the surname of Eagles’ co-founder and lead singer Don …

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