November 12, 2019 Antitrust / Class Actions / Litigation / NCAA / Rights

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 …

June 20, 2017 NCAA

NCAA Responds to Former NIU Punters Attempt to Revive Antitrust Challenge

The NCAA has urged the Seventh Circuit to reject the appeal of former Northern Illinois University punter, Peter Deppe. As mentioned in our previous post, Deppe’s proposed class action suit, which revolves around the NCAA’s transfer rules and eligibility bylaws, was dismissed in March, 2017. In a Wednesday, June 14, 2017 brief, the NCAA voiced their opinion on Deppe’s appeal and his interpretation of a 2012 Seventh Circuit decision.

Deppe claims that the Seventh Circuit decision requires the NCAA to prove the transfer rules …

April 28, 2017 NCAA

Former NIU Punter Appeals Validity of Transfer Rule to the Seventh Circuit

Peter Deppe, a former punter for Northern Illinois University (NIU), has filed a notice of appeal that challenges an Indiana Federal Court’s dismissal of his antitrust claim regarding the NCAA rule forcing student-athletes who transfer universities to sit out for a year before returning to play for the new school.

As background, Deppe was originally recruited as a walk-on punter by NIU in 2014. Deppe’s complaint alleged that he was redshirted and told by the coaches that he would receive a scholarship and become …

April 25, 2016 Antitrust / MLB

MLB Anti-Trust Settlement Hits Snag with Objector

Back in 2012, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Major League Baseball and some of its broadcast partners, including Comcast and DirecTV, alleging that the high prices for “out of market” games and the blackouts of local “in market” telecasts constituted violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The suit accused the defendants of protecting exclusive territories that had been carved out for live-game video presentation using “anticompetitive blackouts.”

However, recently it seemed that the lawsuit was coming to an end, with Forbes reporting that the …

March 7, 2016 Antitrust / Litigation / NCAA

The Big Leagues: NCAA Requests Extension to Appeal to SCOTUS Over Student-Athlete Compensation

On Thursday, March 3, 2016, the National Collegiate Athletic Association requested a 30-day extension to appeal from a Ninth Circuit ruling which held that the NCAA ban on compensation for the use of student athletes’ images and likenesses violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

The litigation began in 2009 when former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon and former ASU and University of Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller filed separate lawsuits against the NCAA, Electronic Arts Inc., and Collegiate Licensing Co. The original lawsuits claimed in part that …

December 7, 2015 Antitrust / NBA

Stubhub Files Notice of Appeal in Antitrust Lawsuit

On Tuesday, December 1, 2015, Stubhub filed its Notice of Appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, urging the Circuit Court to review its recently dismissed lawsuit against the reigning NBA champions, the Golden State Warriors.

Stubhub originally filed its lawsuit in April, alleging that the Warriors violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by restricting the “resale” of season tickets to Ticketmaster’s platform. The Warriors and Ticketmaster countered with a motion to dismiss, arguing that Stubhub failed to allege a …

November 10, 2015 Antitrust / NBA

StubHub Antitrust Suit Dismissed

The Golden State Warriors, the NBA’s reigning champions, won another victory last week, this time in the courtroom. On Thursday, November 5, 2015, a federal judge dismissed StubHub’s antitrust action against the Warriors and Ticketmaster.

StubHub filed suit in April, alleging that the Warriors violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by restricting the resale of season tickets to Ticketmaster’s platform. The complaint alleged that the Warriors threatened to revoke ticket privileges, deny first bid at playoff tickets, and refusal to invite ticket holders back next …

October 23, 2015 Antitrust / NFL

NFL and DirecTV’s “Sunday Ticket” Subject of Antitrust Lawsuit

On Friday, October 16, 2015, five plaintiffs brought suit against the NFL, its 32 teams, DirecTV, CBS, NBC, Fox, and ESPN, alleging that current NFL broadcasting agreements violate the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

The plaintiffs allege that DirecTV’s “NFL Sunday Ticket” stifles competition and unfairly raises prices. Currently, the NFL Sunday Ticket — an out-of-market sports package — is the only way for viewers to watch regular season games outside of the limited games available on CBS, NBC, Fox, NFL Network, and ESPN. This, the plaintiffs …

October 16, 2015 Antitrust / PGA

PGA Tour – Not Quite Out of the Rough Just Yet

On Friday, October 9, 2015, attorneys for a group of professional caddies filed a motion in opposition of dismissal against the PGA Tour, citing violations of antitrust law, the Sherman Act, and the Lanham Act. The class action lawsuit, originally filed in February, centers around the issues of forced advertisement without proper remuneration and unfair trade practices, as the caddies argue the Tour obligated the plaintiffs wear bibs adorned with corporate sponsors not chosen by them at televised tournaments.

In opposition to the now second …

September 2, 2015 Antitrust / Boxing / Litigation

Golden Boy Promotions v. Haymon: Who is the Real Double-Dipper?

This past May, boxing promotion company Golden Boy Promotions LLC filed an antitrust action against Alan Haymon, a manager for various boxers, including Floyd Mayweather. The action claims that Haymon violated the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, and several state laws, alleging that the manager acted as both a manager of boxers and a boxing promoter to monopolize American boxing. Laws such as the Ali Act are intended to separate boxing promotion from management so that fiduciary duties owed to …