San Jose Takes MLB Antitrust Case to Supreme Court

As anticipated, the San Jose City Council unanimously voted to appeal the antitrust case challenging MLB’s antitrust exemption.

The dispute arose when San Jose’s attempt to relocate the Oakland Athletics to the South Bay was halted by the MLB’s territorial restrictions. In the lawsuit, the city argued that the territorial rule granting the San Francisco Giants club the right to block the A’s relocation as well as alleged stalling by an MLB relocation committee violated antitrust laws.

After the district court dismissed the suit, the …

January 19, 2015 Antitrust / MLB

9th Circuit Throws Out San Jose’s Antitrust Suit Against MLB

In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that San Jose’s antitrust claims against MLB were barred by baseball’s antitrust exemption.

After its antitrust suit against MLB in 2013 was dismissed by a trial court, San Jose had appealed the decision to the Ninth Circuit early last year to continue its effort to move the Oakland A’s to Silicon Valley.

San Jose challenged the 92-year old antitrust exemption of MLB to bring the Oakland Athletics to Silicon …

December 15, 2014 Antitrust / MLB

David v. Goliath: Another Suit Brought Against MLB by Minor Leaguers

Four minor league players filed an antitrust lawsuit in San Francisco federal court against Major League Baseball (MLB), claiming that the league’s right of first refusal to resign the players impair their ability to negotiate when their contracts expire.

Calling the league a cartel, the complaint said the players are “powerless to combat the collusive power of the MLB cartel.” It further claimed that “MLB continues to actively and openly collude on many aspects of minor leaguers’ working conditions,” including wages and contract terms. Especially, …

December 5, 2014 Legislation / MLB / NBA / NFL / NHL

Bill Ending Antitrust Exemptions for Pro Sports Leagues Introduced

A bill to end the current permanent antitrust exemptions of the four major professional sports leagues was introduced by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. on December 2.

Titled the Sustained Promotion of Responsibility in Team Sports Act (SPORTS), the bill would remove permanent antitrust exemptions for NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA one year from the bill’s enactment and replace it with a reauthorization process every five years. According to the SPORTS Act, ninety-five days before ending the exemption, Congress would have an up-down vote on a …

December 3, 2014 Antitrust / TV

NHL Says No Common Question, No Common Answer, No Class Certification

In a court document released last week, NHL, Comcast, and others urged that the court should not grant a class certification to a group of TV broadcasting service subscribers who brought an antitrust action. The defendants including NHL, Comcast, MLB and others argued that since the plaintiffs had failed to show common impact with common evidence, granting a class certification was not proper.

In 2012, the subscribers commenced the suit alleging that the restrictions imposed by the NHL and MLB on local TV broadcasters are …

September 28, 2014 Litigation / MLB

Mitch Williams Sues MLB & Deadspin for Response to Little League Incident

On Wednesday, September 24, ex-MLB pitcher, “Wild Thing” Mitch Williams filed a lawsuit against the MLB network and news outlet, Deadspin.

The suit Williams is bringing claims wrongful termination and defamation against the network, where he was an analyst since 2009 until his firing this year, and defamation against Deadspin. The suit arises from alleged incident at his son’s little league baseball game in May this year. Deadspin ran two articles on the story, reporting that Williams, a coach for his son’s team, argued with …

September 2, 2014 Litigation / MLB

MLB Seeks Pre-Trial Appeal & Plaintiffs Seek Class Certification in Antitrust Broadcasting Litigation

On Wednesday August 27, 2014, the MLB filed a motion for immediate interlocutory appeal with Judge Scheindlin in the Southern District of New York, seeking permission to appeal her recent order in their current antitrust litigation case.

The MLB’s geographically based broadcasting restrictions are currently being challenged in the SDNY by irate fans who are tired of blackout restrictions and the high prices of streaming games online. Earlier this month, Judge Scheindlin ruled against the MLB’s motion for summary judgment, holding that the oft-cited antitrust …

August 5, 2014 Doping / MLB

A-Rod’s PED Supplier Surrendered to DEA

The master mind in the Biogenesis scandal surrendered to DEA on Tuesday, tentatively closing a chapter of the two-year Operation Strikeout investigation. Anthony Bosch, the founder of Biogenesis clinic, and his associates have been charged with conspiracy to distribute steroids. The doping scandal marred some of Major League Baseball’s famous names like Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun, Nelson Cruz, Melky Cabrera and Bartolo Colon. Close to 20 players have been suspended by MLB for having tested positive or for their usage of steroids revealed in clinic …

June 26, 2014 MLB

Royals Foul Out in Court Over Flying Hotdogs

Is a flying hotdog an inherent risk of watching a baseball game? Missouri’s highest court said no. The appeal before the court was a personal injury verdict in a jury trial. The case was brought by Royals fan John Coomer who was hit by an airborne hotdog tossed by the team’s mascot “Sluggerrr.” Coomer claimed that the flying hotdog caused a detached retina which required a surgery. At trial, the jury found the team at no fault.

It was a crucial question that determines whether …

June 25, 2014 Concussions / MLB

Does it Look Silly? Padres Reliever Alex Torres Says Safety over Sleekness.

It may look awkward and uncomfortable, but this protective cap could make the difference. That seems to be the message Padres pitcher Alex Torres was making when he wore a protective cap during the Saturday night’s game.

While the media hype is on NFL given the concussion class-action lawsuit, the awareness of concussion dangers has spread out both vertically and horizontally. It has tinkled down to youth sports and spread to other professional sports like baseball.

Although it is not a contact sports per se, …