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SCOTUS Says Copyright Plaintiffs Need Registration to Sue
On Monday, the Supreme Court affirmed the 11th Circuit’s decision in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corporation v Wall-Street.com, holding that a copyright owner may not file an infringement suit or seek other legal remedies until the Copyright Office registers their copyright. The unanimous decision resolved a circuit split on the issue of when a copyright is “registered” within the meaning of the Copyright Act. The provision at issue is §411(a), which states, “no civil action for infringement of the copyright in any United States work shall be instituted until preregistration or registration of the copyright claim has been made in accordance with this […]
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Lack of Insurance May Sack Football
A recent ESPN “Outside the Lines” investigation revealed an existential threat to football: the disappearing insurance market. From the NFL to Pop Warner, leagues, schools, and teams spend large sums of money on general liability insurance. With greater concern over traumatic brain injury, insurance companies are raising prices on premiums or pulling out of the market altogether. Insurance representatives have likened traumatic brain injury with asbestos-induced lung disease, in that symptoms can lie dormant for decades. As long as former players are still living (and even after their death should their brain show signs of CTE), insurance companies are on the […]
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2007 NBA Ref Scandal Back in Play
After pleading guilty in 2007 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and transmit gambling information, former NBA referee Tim Donaghy is back in the news. In an in-depth report, ESPN analyzed the games Donaghy officiated and interviewed his co-conspirators. The findings reveal that Donaghy did more than just bet on the games he worked – he fixed them. The scheme was relatively simple. Donaghy would predict if a team playing in one of his games would cover the spread. If Donaghy was right, he received $2,000 from his gambling associates. If he was wrong – which he rarely was – he didn’t […]
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Proposed California Bill Would Allow Student-Athletes to Pursue Sponsorships
California state Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) proposed a bill that would compensate college athletes from the state’s 24 public colleges for sponsorship opportunities. The “Fair Pay to Play Act” would also allow student-athletes to sign with agents while maintaining amateur status in order to ensure they are adequately represented while pursuing these new opportunities. The bill would not, however, allow universities to pay students directly. Instead, it would allow students to benefit from uses of their “name, image, or likeness.” The bill cites a 2012 study by the National College Players Association and Drexel University Sports Management Program which estimated the […]
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Oregon Ducks Pushed to the Limit in Rhabdomyolysis Suit
In January, former Oregon Ducks offensive lineman Doug Brenner sued his alma mater, coaches, and the NCAA for $11.5 million, relating to a series of extreme workouts in 2017. In the wake of the workouts in question, Brenner and two teammates suffered from rhabdomyolysis, a syndrome in which muscle content breaks down and leaks into the bloodstream. The workouts, argues Brenner, were not focused on improving player performance but rather on discipline. The extreme number of repetitions caused players to vomit, collapse, and even pass out. For Brenner, his case of rhabdomyolysis resulted in permanent kidney damage. The suit alleges that […]
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No Joke: Court Dismisses Conan’s Affirmative Defense in Joke Theft Lawsuit
On Thursday, Judge Janis Sammartino of the Southern District of California rejected the affirmative defenses advanced by Conan O’Brien in a long-running joke theft lawsuit. The suit centers on four jokes that O’Brien told on his show Conanin 2015, which were allegedly stolen from the Twitter account of plaintiff Robert Kaseberg, a former comedy writer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. O’Brien’s affirmative defense specifically stemmed from “The Tom Brady Joke,” which he told on his show the day after Super Bowl XLIX in February 2015. The joke stated that the truck which was given to the winning team’s “Most Valuable […]
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De Havilland v. FX Networks: Another “Slapp” in the Face?
On Tuesday, FX Networks filed a brief in opposition to Olivia de Havilland’s petition for writ of certiorari, asking the Supreme Court not to hear de Havilland’s case after her petition for review was rejected by the California Supreme Court on July 11. The initial lawsuit began on June 30, 2017 when de Havilland filed suit in California state court in response to FX Network’s hit series Feud: Bette and Joan, which traced the historic rivalry between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford as they filmed What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?. de Havilland asserted two separate claims — that she was being portrayed in […]
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Bad Break: Ex-NFL Player Sues Dr. James Andrews for $180 Million
Sharrif Floyd, a 2013 first-round draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings, filed a lawsuit against the most well-known man in sports medicine, Dr. James Andrews, and his staff, for $180 million. Floyd went under the knife during the 2016 season for what was supposed to be routine arthroscopic knee surgery. Upon discovering a micro-fracture, however, the medical team unsuccessfully attempted a more invasive procedure. Furthermore, Floyd alleges that a negligent, non-consensual administration of a post-surgery pain blocker paralyzed a nerve and surrounding muscle to such a degree that his speed and quickness were permanently compromised. Floyd, who expected to only miss […]
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Ohio Supreme Court Ruling Opens the Door for a Lawsuit Blitz
The Ohio Supreme Court became the first state high court to tackle the issue of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (“CTE”) in court, holding that CTE could be treated as a latent condition that develops long after an initial injury. Steven Schmitz, a former football player at Notre Dame from 1974 to 1978, initially sued Notre Dame and the NCAA in 2014, alleging that the institutions showed a “reckless disregard” for player safety. Schmitz passed away in 2015, succumbing to a brain disease caused by the numerous concussions he had suffered. Notre Dame and the NCAA argued that under Ohio state law, the […]
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Court is not Ready to Purge Lawsuit
On July 17, 2014, Douglas Jordan-Benel sued Universal Studios, United Talent Agency and screenplay writer, James Demonaco, claiming the movie The Purge is based on his screenplay, Settler’s Day. Jordan-Benel alleges in his complaint that he submitted his screenplay for consideration to United Talent Agency around July 8, 2011, but the work was ultimately rejected. However, the same agent who passed on Settler’s Day supervised the agent of The Purge writer James Demonaco. As evidence, Jordan-Benel highlights the similarities in theme, setting and plot. In the complaint, Jordan-Benel expresses four claims for relief: copyright infringement regarding The Purge movie, copyright infringement […]
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Acclaimed Painter Sues Lawyer for Fraud
On Wednesday, painter Robert Sundholm filed suit against his personal attorney for tricking him into signing away the film rights to his life story. Sundholm’s unique biography has been the subject of features for People Magazine, CBS and BBC. The artist was abandoned by his parents as a child, never graduated from high school, learned to read when he was 32, and worked as a street hustler to get by. At the age of 60, while working as a janitor at North Bergen town hall in New Jersey, Sundholm began making art as a hobby and giving it away. Attorney Daniel […]
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Believeland No More: Boylan Files Age Discrimination Suit Against Cavs
Since superstar LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Los Angeles Lakers this past summer, the Cavs have been in a steep nose dive. Most recently, former assistant coach James Boylan (63 years old) filed an age discrimination suit in Ohio county court after the Cavs exercised their right not to extend Boylan’s contract after the 2017-18 season. Given his proven record—4 NBA finals appearances in the last 4 years—Boylan argues that his contract, which ended on July 1, should have been renewed. Boylan has seen his fair share of the NBA. His first stint as an assistant coach began […]