K&C Sports & Entertainment Law Weekly Roundup (June 9, 2023)

Sports:

• Golf:
  • In an apparent end to the hottest sports related antitrust litigation in recent memory, the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and DP World Tour have agreed to merge under “one umbrella” for world golf and settle the antitrust and contract litigation among the Tours and LIV Golf with PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan set to serve as CEO of the new for-profit organization; further details to be ironed out – PGA Tour, LIV Golf, DP World Tour unify ‘under one umbrella’ – ESPN
  • PGA Tour players and LIV Golfers have had divergent opinions on the news of the merger with PGA Tour players, its largest stakeholder, expressing a great deal of disappointment, shock and anger at having not been involved or even informed of the several weeks-long negotiations between the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and DP World Tour – Jay Monahan meeting with PGA Tour golfers gets heated – ESPN
  • Meanwhile, the proposed golf merger has spurred legislators to question the legal and tax statuses of the PGA Tour in wake of the news to partner up with the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund, including the introduction of proposed legislation that would close the tax-favorable status of the PGA Tour and certain other professional sports tours and leagues – PGA-LIV Pact Spurs Lawmaker Questions on League Tax Status (1) (bloomberglaw.com)
• Lionel Messi has decided to continue his legendary soccer/football career in the U.S. with Inter Miami CF of Major League Soccer, substantively agreeing a deal reportedly worth between $125-150 million through 2026 (the year the U.S., Mexico and Canada host the FIFA World Cup) including salary, bonuses and equity in the South Florida franchise partially owned by former player David Beckham with Adidas and Apple also a part of the agreement offering profit-sharing agreements on merchandising and subscriptions to MLS Season Pass (a similar, but different, path the MLS took by utilizing subsidies from its partners when it attracted Beckham to the MLS in order to get around the league’s difficult and complex wage and salary restrictions) – Messi, Inter Miami, MLS deal: Debut, contract, salary, more – ESPN
• North Carolina legislators approved a bill to legalize sports betting including a cap on mobile licenses to operators and an 18% tax on operator’s gross wagering revenue – North Carolina Lawmakers Approve Sports Betting Legalization (bloomberglaw.com)
• Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn asked a federal judge not to toss the conviction of a former Fox executive in the latest FIFA corruption trial, saying there was ample evidence he schemed to defraud soccer organizations by paying bribes for media rights – Feds Fight Ex-Fox Exec’s Acquittal Bid In FIFA Bribery Trial – Law360
• An Arizona-based company that sold golf travel packages is settling its claims against a ticket broker it accused of selling fake passes to The Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, that cost it hundreds of thousands of dollars in customer refunds and lost profits forcing it to close shop – Broker Settles Suit Over Fake Masters Tournament Passes – Law360
• Baseball:
  • A Latino Major League Baseball (MLB) umpire’s bid to revive his lawsuit in the 2^nd Circuit challenging the discriminatory effects on minority umpires of MLB’s promotion process appears to hinge on whether he can rely on historical evidence of a lack of crew chiefs in the league’s umpire ranks – MLB, Latino Umpire Probed by 2d Cir. About Minority Promotions (bloomberglaw.com)
  • However, the 2^nd Circuit seemed skeptical of Cuban-born umpire Angel Hernandez’s claim that MLB engaged in discrimination by giving full decision-making power over promotions to a white executive, former New York Yankees manager Joe Torre – 2nd Circ. Doubtful Of MLB Umpire’s Promotion Bias Claims – Law360
  • MLB argued in the 2nd Circuit that the number of farm team affiliates had been settled as part of the novel collective bargaining agreement approved and agreed by minor league baseball players earlier this year, mooting litigation that aims to overturn baseball’s century-old antitrust carveout – Minor League CBA Moots Antitrust Case, MLB Tells 2nd Circ. – Law360
  • However, a group of minor league baseball teams continued its challenge to MLB’s century-old antitrust carve-out after the franchises were stripped of their big-league affiliations, arguing that the recent Minor League Baseball collective bargaining agreement doesn’t stamp out their claims – Minor League Teams Say CBA Doesn’t Moot Antitrust Case – Law360
• A federal bankruptcy judge in California handed Edmonton Oilers left winger Evander Kane a favorable order wiping out most of his debts in his Chapter 7 case, after his creditors fought to convert the bankruptcy to a Chapter 11 plan – NHL Player Gets Most Ch. 7 Debts Wiped Out – Law360

Entertainment:

• In the legal battle relating to the winery owned by former spouses, Brad Pitt filed a bolstered complaint in his suit accusing Angelina Jolie of going behind his back and selling her share of the winery they co-owned, adding accusations that his ex-wife initially vowed to work with Pitt before acting “vindictively” in the midst of a heated child custody dispute – Brad Pitt Lobs Beefed-Up Winery Claims At Angelina Jolie – Law360
• Frustrated with the pace of litigation posturing, Rapper Megan Thee Stallion accused her record label of holding her “hostage” in a dispute over her 2021 project “Something for Thee Hotties,” saying that the label’s motion to push back case deadlines for the second time in two months is a strategy to delay trial – Megan Thee Stallion Says She’s Held ‘Hostage’ By Trial Delays – Law360
• The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and other groups are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review the 11th Circuit’s ruling that an artist was not time-barred from recovering additional damages from a music publisher in a copyright suit over recorded songs – High Court Urged To Review Copyright Damages Time Limit – Law360
• A federal judge in Tennessee has agreed to trim a proposed class action brought against Warner Music by members of the 1970s pop-rock band Orleans over allegedly withheld royalties, tossing failed declaratory judgment claims but shielding some “plausible” contract breach claims from dismissal – Warner Music Gets ’70s Rockers’ Royalties Class Action Pared – Law360