Sir Mix-a-Lot Awarded Attorney’s Fees Against Former Collaborator

On Tuesday, October 27, 2015, U.S. District Court Judge Robert S. Lasnik ruled in favor of hip-hop legend Sir Mix-A-Lot, ordering plaintiff David Ford to pay more than $20,000 in attorney’s fees and other expenses. The ruling came as the latest decision in the copyright suit filed by Ford in March, and follows Judge Lasnik’s dismissal of the suit in September.

Ford, who collaborated on a number of tracks with Sir Mix-A-Lot in the late 1980s and early 90s, sought to recover for copyright violations …

October 16, 2015 NCAA

NCAA Athlete Compensation: Student-Athletes File Petition for Rehearing

On Wednesday, October 14, 2015, former student-athletes filed a petition with the Ninth Circuit for a rehearing en banc on its decision to uphold the rule that NCAA athletes do not need to be compensated beyond the cost of attending college.

The federal trial court originally held that: (1) universities may grant to student athletes the full cost of attendance; and (2) universities may allow student athletes to receive up to $5,000 per year as compensation for the use of their names and likenesses. On …

October 9, 2015 NHL

Former ‘Yotes Owners Continue to be Pestered by the NHL

It seems the National Hockey League still isn’t ready to let one previous franchise owner escape its icy clutches just yet. In a response brief filed Monday, October 7, 2015, former Phoenix Coyotes owners Jerry and Vickie Moyes requested the Arizona District Court to follow in the footsteps of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Baum, who deemed most of the money sought to be recovered by the NHL as unsubstantiated back in January.

The Moyes’ brief was filed in response to a supplemental brief the NHL …

October 8, 2015 Antitrust / MLB

Supreme Court Again Refuses to Hear Case Involving Antitrust Exemption for MLB

The U. S. Supreme Court will not be hearing the latest in a long-line of antitrust suits filed against Major League Baseball, as it was determined Monday that the city of San Jose’s petition for certiorari was denied. The city had filed the petition in response to a dismissal on appeal in the Ninth Circuit earlier in January of this year.

The antitrust lawsuit came about in 2013 after San Jose had unsuccessfully attempted to relocate the Oakland Athletics an hour South along the Californian …

October 6, 2015 NCAA

Student-Athlete Time Demands: NCAA D-I Council Takes Another Look

Over the course of the first week of October, the NCAA Division I Council began discussions on the time demands of college athletics. Member schools will discuss the demands among themselves, and they will also consider student-athlete input.

Currently, while in-season, D-I college sport teams are subject to a 20-hour-per-week limit on the athletes’ combined game and practice time. During the off-season, programs are limited to 8 hours per week.

The Council discussions come following the September 30, 2015 U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ …

October 5, 2015 NCAA

NCAA Student-Athletes Continue Fight For Class Certification

On Thursday, October 1, 2015, a group of student athletes continued their fight for class action certification in their lawsuit against the NCAA. The lawsuits, filed on behalf of former and current NCAA athletes, aims to reduce NCAA restrictions on scholarship caps for Bowl Subdivision D-1 football players and for men’s and women’s basketball teams.

In order to obtain class certification, the plaintiffs must demonstrate that all of their cases involve common questions of law or fact and that the “named” plaintiffs will protect the …

October 1, 2015 Antitrust / NCAA

NCAA Athlete Compensation: The Ninth Circuit Filed its Opinion on Appeal

On September 30, 2015, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals filed its opinion in the appeal of the O’Bannon v. NCAA antitrust lawsuit. At the federal trial court level, District Court Judge Claudia Wilken held that the NCAA’s ban on compensating student athletes violates federal antitrust laws. Judge Wilken concluded that “less restrictive” means were available to preserve student athletes’ amateur status, and therefore, she held that NCAA member universities were permitted to engage in the following acts: (1) universities may grant to student …

September 28, 2015 MLB

Minor Leaguers to Appeal Dismissal of Antitrust Action Against MLB

Earlier this month, a federal judge in California granted Major League Baseball’s motion to dismiss the minor league players’ antitrust lawsuit. On Wednesday, the minor league players informed the court that they plan to appeal the decision.

The lawsuit—a class action filed in 2014—alleges that the MLB violated federal antitrust laws by suppressing the compensation of minor league players through its anti-trust exemption. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. dismissed the case pursuant to a January 2015 decision in which the 9^th Circuit upheld …

June 21, 2015 MLB

Bottom of the 9th: San Jose Appeals Ruling in Favor of MLB

In 2013, San Jose, California filed a lawsuit against Major League Baseball, claiming violations of anti-trust laws. Specifically, MLB has refused to allow the Oakland Athletics baseball team to move to San Jose, as it asserts that the city falls within the geographic territory of the San Francisco Giants. On Wednesday, MLB asked the United States Supreme Court to uphold decades-old precedent exempting baseball from antitrust laws.

The Ninth Circuit based its ruling on a ruling by the Supreme Court itself from 1922 which exempted …