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Contracts Headline Sports Law

11th Circuit Holds That Attorneys Cannot Take Fees Out Of NFL Disability Awards

There is nothing wrong with providing legal services to retired National Football League (NFL) players.  In fact, many retired NFL players have good claims for benefits and deserve representation by competent attorneys.  However, if an attorney provides legal services in such a case involving payment through the NFL pension and disability plan, he/she should not […]

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Contracts Headline Sports Law

Kent State’s Buyout Clause And Tortious Interference Claims

A common clause in a professional or college sports coach contract is a buyout clause.  This clause typically stipulates the amount of remuneration a coach will have to tender the college or professional team if he decides to change jobs prior to the expiration of the contract, and also lays out how much money the school or […]

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Contracts Headline Sports Law

Simms and Dolabi, et al. v. Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys, NFL

On February 8, 2011, Mike Dolabi and Steve Simms filed a Class Action Complaint against multiple Defendants, including those listed in the title of this post.  The lawsuit has become known as the “Super Bowl Ticket Lawsuit,” and the Plaintiffs claim to represent a class of over 100 members and seek in the aggregate more […]

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Contracts Headline Sports Law

United Football League Blamed For Breaching Promissory Note

The NFL has its concussion problems.  The United Football League (UFL) is just trying to generate enough interest in its product to survive.  One person who is growing very impatient with the UFL is Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban. Cuban, through his company HDNET, LLC, filed a Complaint against William Hambrecht, an investor in the […]

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Contracts Headline Sports Law

MLB Responds To Anheuser-Busch’s Complaint

On November 29, I discussed Anheuser-Busch Inc.’s lawsuit against MLB.  In its Complaint, Anheuser-Busch claimed that the company was entitled to a multi-year renewal on its beer-sponsorship rights based on negotiations that ended with a letter agreement in April 2010, and that MLB all of a sudden went back on its promise to renew, asking for […]

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Contracts Entertainment Law Headline

Winter Music Conference In A Fight With Ultra Music Festival

For over 20 years, South Florida has hosted an annual week-long event called the Winter Music Conference (WMC).  People from around the world come to the event, which includes over 500 sub-events under WMC’s umbrella of festivities.  One of the more popular sub-events is the Ultra Music Festival (Ultra).  For the first year, in 2011, […]

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Contracts Headline Sports Law

A Buzz Between Anheuser-Busch and Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball has a battle on its hands.  One of its main sponsors, Anheuser-Busch Inc., has filed a lawsuit against MLB, claiming that the company was entitled to a multi-year renewal on its beer-sponsorship rights based on negotiations that ended with a letter agreement in April 2010, and that MLB all of a sudden […]

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Contracts Headline Sports Law

If You Sign An Agency Contract, You Will Have To Pay Your Agent!

Tom Condon, who is an agent in the football division at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), has filed a lawsuit in federal court against former client, Ryan Pickett.  Condon claims that Pickett owes the agent $83,600 in unpaid agent fees, and wants the court to confirm and enforce an arbitrator’s order stating such is true.  The […]

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Contracts Headline Sports Law

Miami Heat Not Feeling “Favored” By Clear Channel Broadcasting

While Miami Heat fans are still wondering whether the team made a good decision by signing Jerry Stackhouse after Mike Miller had surgery to repair a broken thumb, the team has its own concerns in a legal matter off the court.  The Miami Heat filed a legal action against Clear Channel Broadcasting, claiming that Clear […]

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Contracts Intellectual Property Sports Law Trade Secrets

Sports Agent Sues Former Client/Employee For Trade Secret Misappropriation, Breaching Non-Compete, Etc.

On October 6, 2010, Willis & Woy Sports Group, L.L.C., and Jordan Woy v. Horace Smith, et al. was filed in a district court in Dallas County, Texas.  In the petition, application for temporary restraining order, and application for injunctive relief, Jordan Woy alleges that former client and Willis & Woy employee, Horace Smith, used […]

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Contracts Headline Professional Responsibility Sports Law

Bad Contract Drafting Leaves The Los Angeles Dodgers Ownership Unknown

One of the first things any law school student will learn in what is usually a 2L Legal Drafting course is that punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure really do matter.  I remember my professor telling us that the placement of a single comma affected whether the plaintiff in a case would be given a $2+ […]

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Antitrust Contracts Cyberspace Headline Trade Secrets

Google, Apple, Intel, Adobe, Pixar, Intuit Told To Get Out Of Bed With Each Other

A no-poach agreement is just slightly different than a non-compete agreement.  A majority of states permit employers to place non-compete clauses in employer contracts and even have standalone non-compete agreements with employees that are separate from the employment contracts that are executed.  California is known as being one of the few states that rarely permits a […]