Former WWW Producer Andrew Green has filed suit against World Wrestling Entertainment (the “WWE”) and professional wrestler Paul Wight Jr. a/k/a “Big Show” over a messy backstage interview. Part of Green’s job responsibilities as a producer was to interview wrestlers following their bouts. Green was asked to interview Big Show after his World Heavyweight Championship bout vs. Alberto Del Rio during January’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view event. Big Show initially refused to do the interview until he was informed that it was ordered by a high …
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Singh Fires Back at PGA Tour with Lawsuit Over Deer-Antler Spray Suspension
On May 8, 2013, pro golfer Vijay Singh filed suit against the PGA Tour in New York State Supreme Court for exposing him to “public humiliation and ridicule.” The suit stems from the Tour’s 12 week investigation into Singh for his use of deer-antler spray. The Tour dropped its case against on April 30, 2013, citing new information from the World Anti-Doping Agency which said that it no longer prohibits the spray because it only contains minimal amounts of a banned substance, the growth factor …
Continue ReadingClassic Novel at the Center of New Copyright Battle
On May 3, 2013, “To Kill a Mockingbird” author Nelle Harper Lee sued her former literary agent Samuel Pinkus and agency Veritas Media, Inc., accusing them of deceiving her into handing over the copyright to the book for nothing and wrongfully retaining the related commissions that Lee was entitled to.
The back story is a relatively complicated one: Lee’s complaint asserts that Pinkus took advantage of his father-in-law’s ailing health back in 2002, snagging all the father-in-law’s clients from his literary agency McIntosh & Otis, …
Continue ReadingNFL Players’ Workers’ Compensation Offset Suit Revisited by Second Circuit
On April 19, 2013, the Second Circuit reopened a claim allowing injured former National Football League (NFL) players from teams including the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, and Carolina Panthers to go forward with further litigation against the National Football League Management Council (council) over the size of workers’ compensation offsets that can be claimed by their former teams.
The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) and the council are parties to a collective bargaining agreement that incorporates a standard player’s contract into its terms …
Continue ReadingInsurance Blunder Costs Newest Philadelphia Eagles’ QB $11.5 Million
Quarterback Matt Barkley was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles with the 98th pick in the 2013 NFL draft. He was the fourth quarterback selected and was the first selection in the fourth round. History suggests that he will sign a four-year contract with the Eagles worth about $2.5 million. Sure, that’s a lot of dough, but not nearly what Barkley would have earned had he foregone his senior season at USC and entered the NFL draft in 2012. As a projected top-10 pick …
Continue ReadingSongwriters Seek ‘Somebody’ to Sue – Hit Bieber and Usher with $10 Million Copyright Infringement Suit
On May 2, 2013, Justin Bieber, Usher, and Universal Music Corporation were slapped with a $10 million copyright infringement lawsuit by Virginia songwriters Devin Copeland (a.k.a. ‘De Rico’) and Mareio Overton. Plaintiffs accuse Bieber and the others of stealing their song “Somebody to Love” – a song which Bieber released as a hit single in 2010. Usher and Bieber later collaborated to release a remix of the song.
Plaintiffs allege they handed the song over to music industry scouts in 2008, and it was then …
Continue ReadingSettlement Allows PeopleBrowsr to Continue Drinking From Twitter’s Firehose Through End of 2013
On April 25, 2013, Twitter Inc. and PeopleBrowsr Inc. (a social media data analytics company) settled a lawsuit in California federal court over alleged violations of various anti-competition statutes. PeopleBroswr filed suit against Twitter last November after Twitter threatened to cut off the company’s access to the “Firehose” data feed.
Currently, PeopleBroswr purchases social media data from Twitter through the company’s “Firehose” feed, a constantly flowing source of information generated by all of the ‘tweets’ that flows through Twitter on a second-by-second basis. In order …
Continue ReadingJay-Z Branches Out Into Sports, Lands Cano and Cruz; Is LeBron Next?
Jay-Z has built an impressive empire as a rap mogul, and now he’s moving into sports, reaching an agreement with Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which represents more than 800 professional athletes. Jay-Z has wasted no time making moves, signing on New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano, and New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz as clients.
This move into the world of sports agency has not gone unnoticed. Cano was signed away from Scott Boras, universally regarded as baseball’s most powerful agent. And …
Continue ReadingObjectionable Combine Questions Lead the NFL and NY Attorney General to Team Up to Combat Sexual Orientation Based Harassment and Discrimination
On April 24, 2013, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced that the AG’s office would be working closely with the NFL to develop news policies to protect players from discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation. Eventually, the effort will produce posters outlining the NFL’s anti-discrimination policies, which will be distributed and prominently placed in the locker rooms of all 32 teams across the league. The NFL also plans to implement new training procedures to educate players and individuals involved in recruiting on …
Continue ReadingWas it Retaliation? Why New Jersey’s Whistleblower Statute May Pose More Problems for Rutgers University on the heels of the Mike Rice Scandal.
The Rutgers Basketball saga was early April’s big news. As most are aware, video recordings were made of basketball practices conducted by Head Basketball Coach Mike Rice which showed him using gay slurs toward his players and otherwise becoming physical toward them. The footage was given to Athletic Director Tim Pernetti in November 2012. Pernetti seemingly took the path of lesser resistance by suspending Rice for three days and levied a fine against him. No further action was taken until the tape was made public …
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