Just When You Thought It Was Over: 9th Circuit Seeks More Information from Athletes and NCAA

Previously, it was reported that U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of California, Claudia Wilken, handed a limited win to college athletes in the Shawne Alston, et al v. NCAA, et al case. Judge Wilken ruled that the NCAA cannot limit compensation or benefits “related to education.”

However, the plaintiffs were seeking to invalidate caps on all forms of compensation. In their quest, they appealed Judge Wilken’s ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. On Jan. 6, 2020, the …

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NCAA Student-Athlete Pay Rules, Opposition Grows

On October 30, 2019, the plaintiffs in the Alston v. NCAA case gained support in the form of an amicus curiae brief from the Open Markets Institute, Change to Win, the National Employment Law Project, economics professor Marshall Steinbaum, and law professors Sanjukta Paul and Veena Dubal. In the brief submitted to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the amici argue that the U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of California, Claudia Wilken, reached “an overly narrow” decision based upon …

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NCAA Plays Defense on All Fronts, College Athletes Seek Big Win in Ninth Circuit

On March 8, 2019, U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of California, Claudia Wilken, ruled that the NCAA’s student-athlete compensation limits “unreasonably restrain trade in violation of . . . the Sherman Act.” A group of former and current student-athletes, including plaintiff Shawne Alston, applauded Wilken’s decision but is requesting that the Ninth Circuit invalidate caps on all forms of compensation.

The NCAA appealed Wilken’s decision and is once again defending its student-athlete compensation rules before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the …

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NCAA College-Athletes Move to Secure Settlement

On January 31, 2018, a class of college-athletes, suing the NCAA over the alleged anti-competition cap benefits, asked Judge Claudia J. Wilken to issue an appeal bond. As we have previously covered, the class secured a court approved settlement of over $209 million, the second largest settlement in NCAA history. However, Darrin Duncan was the only member of the class of 53,748 that objected to the $209 million settlement. Mr. Duncan has since appealed the court approved settlement. Now, the rest of the class …

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Hold Everything: NCAA Seeks To Stay Deferred Payments to Players

On Friday, July 17, the NCAA asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to pause an injunction that allows college athletes to receive deferred compensation for the use of their names, images, and likenesses.  Under the injunction, the NCAA must allow for schools to pay football and men’s basketball players up to the federally defined cost of attendance, plus $5,000 per year for use of their names and likenesses, starting on August 1.

The NCAA immediately appealed Judge Claudia Wilken’s ruling, and oral arguments were …

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9th Circuit Hears O’Bannon Antitrust Appeal Arguments

On Tuesday, March 17, NCAA March Madness began in more than one respect.  In addition to the start of the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament, Tuesday saw the beginning of the much anticipated NCAA appeal to the 9th Circuit challenging the outcome of O’Bannon v. NCAA.

Last August, Judge Claudia Wilken ruled in the case that the NCAA was unreasonably restraining trade in violation of antitrust law by limiting schools’ scholarship amounts to less than the full cost of attendance.  The ruling provides an …

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