NCAA Athletes Added to Class Action Lawsuit Over Billions of TV Money and Video Games

Newsflash from your Hollywood Attorney:

Student-athletes put their names on the biggest antitrust challenge the organization has ever faced.

Active athletes were added to a proposed class action lawsuit against the NCAA, where billions of dollars in TV money could be at stake.

The lawsuit has been pending for more than four years and has taken turns and twists on its route to becoming a legal challenge that focuses on the alleged antitrust injuries inherent in forcing athletes to sign waivers and give up the right to profit from video game and broadcasting deals.

A San Francisco federal judge is considering whether to certify the class action, and after a hearing last month, allowed the plaintiffs to amend their claims to add current athletes to the proposed lawsuit. Now joining ex-athletes like Oscar Robertson and Bill Russell are those still in school, including Arizona linebacker Jake Fischer, Clemson defensive back Darius Robinson and Minnesota wide receiver Victor Keise.

While not as famous as the ex-athletes, the inclusion of a half-dozen current athletes arguably ups the stakes as the NCAA and member conferences find that their most lucrative licensing partnerships are potentially subject to antitrust scrutiny. In addition to the new named plaintiffs as class representatives, the plaintiffs have added details in a whopping 213-page amended complaint that was filed Thursday.

Read Full Complaint here..... http://www.scribd.com/doc/154771300/Ncaa

The new charges come after U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken told the plaintiffs that the "pleading may be amended only the minimum amount necessary" to conform to their certification motion and deficiencies identified by the defendants.

Throughout the process, the NCAA and other defendants like Electronic Arts have been upset at how much the plaintiffs' claims have changed from the legal fight's start. At the beginning, the case was more about some video games that allegedly misappropriated the likeness of former players through avatars. The evolution to a lawsuit that's the biggest antitrust challenge the NCAA has faced has become a basis partly for the defendants' demand that the certification be denied.

As Wilken examines whether to let the plaintiffs proceed -- and if so, how -- the new amended lawsuit includes allegations like EA offering to establish a player fund in 2007 for the use of student-athlete names, images and likenesses.

According to the complaint, the Collegiate Licensing Company, "negotiating on the NCAA's behalf, instead suggested that the money should go to the NCAA. EA agreed to pay a kicker to NCAA in order 'to align interests and incentivize all parties to help build the category with new rights.' EA made this offer contingent on 'no royalties ... to a player fund.'"

The plaintiffs say that not everybody was on board with this plan within the NCAA's ranks.

"NCAA administrators noted 'real concern' that use of student-athletes' names, images and likenesses in video games 'adds to the argument that student-athletes should be unionized and receive a cut of the profits, etc.,' " says the lawsuit.

Read More.... http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/active-ncaa-athletes-added-lawsuit-589236

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NCAA Athletes Challenging Billions in TV Money Per Judge - No Appearing on Television.

After a court hearing on Thursday, a big ruling is looming that could eventually shatter the status quo of amateur athletes getting no compensation for appearing on television.

Who will be the college sports star putting his or her name on a lawsuit with the potential of shaking up collegiate athletics by staking claim to billions of dollars in TV money?

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken presided over a hearing in an Oakland federal courthouse to decide class certification in a high-stakes battle. More than 100 lawyers were in attendance. What started out as a case that involved former NCAA athletes demanding money from ancillary merchandise like video games has morphed into one that potentially includes current NCAA athletes objecting to all the money that comes from TV networks.

It's Judge Wilken's responsibility to decide whether to certify a class of former athletes like Ed O'Bannon, Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson; to certify a class of athletes playing the games right now; to certify both; or to certify neither. According to a report from the hearing, it appears as though the judge is entertaining the big one.

The judge stated at the hearing that it was likely that she would ask for an amended complaint, according to USA Today. That's expected to include the name of a current NCAA athlete as a class representative. Michael Hausfeld, the plaintiff's lead lawyer, said he had "been anticipating this for quite some time and there are a number of current athletes who have expressed a desire and an interest in joining the case."

That doesn't necessarily mean that the judge will certify current athletes. A ruling won't come for weeks and possibly months. The defendants are still upset that the plaintiffs' claims have shifted "radically" during the course of the four-year-old case, and while acknowledging that to be true, Judge Wilken hasn't done anything to stop that. At least so far.

Initially, the lawsuit looked to be won over publicity rights.  Electronic Arts has video games that lets users go into dynasty mode to control characters with the same jersey numbers and other identifiable characteristics of ex-players. But after the NCAA argued O’Bannon and others gave up their rights in release forms signed at the time they were in school, the case began focusing on the alleged antitrust injuries inherent in forcing athletes to sign waivers and having licensing partners enforce a boycott against ex-players making their own deals.

Then, an amended lawsuit proposed that current athletes be included as a class to remedy a situation where the NCAA allegedly set up "collusive restraints" not to pay athletes for "their names, images and likenesses in connection with live television broadcasts of games and video games."

A trial could happen next summer, but if the judge certifies the class and puts billions of dollars in TV money and any newfound needed athlete consent at stake, there could be incentives towards a huge settlement that could close the chapter on amateurism in college sports.

Read More... http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/judge-considers-ncaa-athletes-challenging-573301

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Open Evenings and Weekends this Summer
Call Us Now (310) 273-9600    
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Joe Paterno Family Files Lawsuit Against NCAA

It appears we're about to see another dramatic twist in the convoluted Jerry Sandusky scandal. An NBC Sports executive tells StateCollege.com that the Paterno family is filing a lawsuit against the NCAA.

That revelation comes as NBC Sports commentator Bob Costas takes another look at the controversial Freeh report.

"(The Freeh Report) will be the focus of Costas Tonight according to Adam Freifeld, a vice president of communications for NBC Sports. He says the show was taped Tuesday and will air Wednesday at 11 p.m. on NBCSN, following an NHL hockey playoff game.

Freifeld says the Costas show will include appearances by Wick Sollers, the Paterno family attorney; former U.S. Attorney General and Gov. of Pennsylvania, Dick Thornburgh; and Dan McGinn, a Paterno family spokesperson.

"They will be announcing a new lawsuit against the NCAA on behalf of the Paternos, several Penn State trustees, faculty, former players and coaches." says Freifeld. That has not been confirmed by outside sources. Freifeld did not explain what the Paterno's are asking for in their lawsuit.

StateCollege.com left messages for Wick Sollers and the Paterno family but those messages were not immediately returned.

In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, university spokesperson David La Torre says, "The university is not a party to any lawsuit against the NCAA that may be filed by the Paterno family. Penn State remains committed to full compliance with the consent decree and the athletics integrity agreement. We look forward to continuing to work with Sen. George Mitchell and recognize the important role that intercollegiate athletics provides for our student athletes and the wider university community."

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett is already suing the NCAA. Corbett claims the sanctions will have a negative effect on the economy. The university is also not a part of that legal action.

Former FBI Director Louis Freeh, was hired by Penn State's Board of Trustees after the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse case exploded into the national consciousness. Sandusky, once the football team's beloved defensive coordinator, was eventually convicted for sexually abusing several children.

In his report, Judge Freeh was highly critical of Penn State leaders. He blamed them for a conspiracy of silence. Freeh singled out the actions former president Graham Spanier, former athletic director Tim Curley, former administrator Gary Schultz and former head football coach Joe Paterno.

Spanier, Curley and Schultz were later charged with perjury, obstruction of justice and endangering the welfare of a child, in part because of information contained in the Freeh report.

Critics charge there was a rush to judgement and that important pieces of the puzzle were omitted. Spanier, Curley and Schultz were never interviewed by investigators involved in putting the report together.

Former governor Dick Thornburgh was part of a group hired by the Paternos to examine the Freeh report. "It's incomplete. It's full of inaccuracies," Thornburgh said of the Freeh report, last February. "Much was overlooked, much was misrepresented and the fact is, it really isn't deserving of the basis for action that was insinuated by the NCAA."

The NCAA used the Freeh report to justify serious sanctions against Penn State. Those sanctions include a $60 million fine, scholarship reductions and a four year bowl ban.

Read More... http://www.statecollege.com/news/local-news/paterno-family-reported-to-be-filing-lawsuit-against-ncaa-1315793/

Judge: NCAA Athletes in Lawsuit Can Go After Live TV Cash

The NCAA lost a court battle this week when a federal judge shot down a motion that would have prohibited college athletes involved in a lawsuit from receiving a portion of the billions of dollars generated by live television rights.

The ruling comes as college athletes find themselves cut out of an increasingly-lucrative industry where major networks like Disney’s (DIS) ESPN pay top dollar to televise hugely popular college football and basketball games.

Last year a long-running antitrust lawsuit led by former college basketball star Ed O’Bannon amended its suit to claim a piece of all TV game revenue, instead of just money generated by rebroadcasts.

While the NCAA objected to the amendment on procedural grounds, on Tuesday federal Judge Claudia Wilken rejected the NCAA’s motion to preclude the lawsuit from advancing. 

“Now the (NCAA and its co-defendants) are facing potential liability that's based on the billions of dollars in revenue instead of tens or hundreds of millions," Michael Hausfeld, interim lead counsel for the plaintiffs, told ESPN. "It's a more accurate context for what the players deserve."

“Although our motion to strike was denied, the judge has signaled skepticism on plaintiff's class-certification motion and recognized the plaintiffs' radical change in their theory of the case," said NCAA general counsel Donald Remy. "This is a step in the right direction toward allowing the NCAA to further demonstrate why this case is wrong on the law and that plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate that this case satisfies the criteria for class litigation."

In her ruling, Wilken wrote that the NCAA’s claim “is not reason to preclude” the plaintiffs from moving for class certification. However, Wilken said: “These contentions are more properly considered as arguments supporting denial of the motion…on its merits.”

The lawsuit, which also names video game giant Electronic Arts (EA) as a defendant, was first unveiled in 2009 and has since been joined by big-name college athletes such as Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson.

The judge set a tentative date for a 15-day jury trial for June 2014.

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2013/01/30/judge-ncaa-athletes-in-lawsuit-can-go-after-live-tv-cash/#ixzz2JUzQvSxn