Can a Baseball Fan Argue Fear is Sufficient Injury in Class Action?

On July 11, 2013, Gail Payne filed a class-action lawsuit against Major League Baseball (MLB) in the Federal District Court in Northern California. Payne claimed the MLB did not do enough to “protect fans from fast-moving balls and splintered bats.” Payne and the class members were seeking injunctive relief: to create better protections to MLB fans by adding more netting to stop foul balls and broken bats along the first and third-base lines.

The lawsuit referenced a study by Bloomberg News in 2014, which reported …

August 19, 2016 MLB

Agent Wants $810K From MLB Prospect’s Father

A&F Sports Agency, a Florida based sports agency, is suing the father of Luis Almanzar, the top baseball prospect from the Dominican Republic. The sports agent claims that the parties agreed to have the agency exclusively represent the prospect in all contract negotiations, yet the agency found out that another agent negotiated a contract between the Almanzars and the San Diego Padres. As a result, A&F Sports Agency missed out on approximately $810,000 – 20 per cent of any signing bonus – per the …

August 19, 2016 General / Legislation

The IRS Takes Gold in Rio

America’s Olympic Medalists in Rio will return to an unpleasant reality: a tax bill. Each medalist will be taxed on their award from the U.S. Olympic Committee and the monetary value of the medal itself. The U.S. Olympic Committee awards cash prizes to medal winners in the following amounts: $25,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver, and $10,000 for bronze. According the IRS, all cash prizes and awards are taxed as income earned abroad. The awards are treated the same as a lottery payout or casino …

August 18, 2016 NFL

Schlichter Seeks Retirement Benefits From NFL

Former NFL quarterback Art Schlichter, who famously gambled away a promising playing career, is suing the NFL Player Retirement Plan in an attempt to receive retirement benefits he claims to have earned during a season in which he was suspended for betting on sports. Schlichter’s argument is although he was suspended for the 1983 season, he remained contractually obligated to the Baltimore Colts and therefore he is entitled to have that season count towards his retirement benefits.

In his complaint, Schlichter alleges he is suffering …

August 18, 2016 Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark

“Let’s Get it On” at the Heart of Ed Sheeran’s Hit Song?

Ed Sheeran is facing yet another copyright suit. This time, the heirs of Ed Townsend are claiming that the famous song “Thinking Out Loud” sounded too much like “Let’s Get It On” — co-written by Ed Townsend and sang by Marvin Gaye. The heirs assert that “the melodic, harmonic and rhythmic composition in ‘Thinking’ are not the product of independent creation,” suing the singer, record labels, promoters and everybody associated with “Thinking Out Loud.”

The plaintiffs claim that the pop singer “copied the ‘heart’ of …

August 17, 2016 NFL

Ex-NFLer Dismisses NFLAA Contract Cap Arguments as Irrelevant

In response to the National Football League Alumni Association’s (NFLAA) attempt to limit its liability in a suit, Earl Christy, former Jets player, is maintaining that the NFLAA’s arguments are inapplicable.

In April 2015, Mark Bouldin, a developer of assisted-living centers and a non-party to the suit, entered into a consulting agreement with Christy. The ex-NFLer introduced Bouldin to NFLAA President, Joe Pisarcik. Christy is now claiming that he was fired by Mark Bouldin after Pisarcik colluded with the association and induced Bouldin to fire …

August 17, 2016 NFL

Sports Authority Bankruptcy Unfolds: Broncos Get Stadium Naming Rights

The Sports Authority (SA) bankruptcy has been as exciting as can be expected from a former sporting goods powerhouse. Recently, a judge rejected a multimillion dollar exit bonus plan for the SA executives. The judge said, “I think it’s just inappropriate to pay senior executives bonuses when all the employees are losing their jobs.” After selling off all its physical merchandise in the last few months, the latest episode revolved around the naming rights of the stadium at Mile High. This too has now …

August 16, 2016 NFL

NFL Hits Back At Disability Claim By Former Player

Charles Dimry, former cornerback in the National Football League, is not giving up on his disability claims against several NFL disability plans. The NFL Player Supplemental Disability Plan and the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement plan recently filed a reply requesting, again, to dismiss Dimry’s claim of erroneously denied disability benefits for ex-players.

After suffering major injuries during his NFL career, followed by several invasive surgeries – including an allegedly botched surgery for a protruding spinal disc, Dimry applied for full disability and was …

Do Monkeys Have the Same Copyright Interests as Humans?

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is not backing down in its fight for copyrights for monkeys. This fight began about five years ago when a photographer, David Slater, was in Indonesia taking pictures of monkeys when Naruto, a now famous monkey, grabbed his camera to snap a selfie. Since then, Naruto’s renowned “Monkey Selfie” has appeared on websites and in a book.

PETA sued Slater arguing that Naruto has the same rights in his photograph as any human would have in their …

August 15, 2016 Litigation

“Buff” Bagwell Sues WWE for Royalties

Former professional wrestler Marcus “Buff” Bagwell sued World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE) on Tuesday, August 9, alleging Bagwell and other wrestlers were denied royalties by WWE. Specifically, the proposed class action suit claims WWE sold pay-per-view content and matches through the WWE Network, a Netflix-type streaming service for fans, and breached contracts with the wrestlers by not paying royalties.

Bagwell claims his World Championship Wrestling (WCW) contract stated he would receive royalties for pay-per-view videos he appeared in through video cassettes, discs, and CD-ROMs, as …

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