MMA Payout is doing its annual review of top business stories for the year. The first story we take a look at is the ongoing Antitrust lawsuit which had several key developments this year.
First, Judge Boulware denied Zuffa’s Motion for Summary Judgment on Friday, December 14th. It did not decide on class certification on the day as the Court made it clear it wanted to hear from the experts in the case for him to determine if there was a viable case on the part of the Plaintiffs.
Earlier this year, experts for Plaintiffs and Zuffa issued the experts reports in this case. The reports assessed things such as the liability of Zuffa and potential damages. Zuffa, of course, shot down these arguments asserted by Plaintiffs’ experts. They, then filed a motion to exclude Plaintiffs’ expert citing (in general) that the opinions did not follow traditional scientific opinions. A bulk of the reports were sealed as the experts reviewed confidential information.
Plaintiffs also filed for Class Certification, a requisite of Class Action status. Zuffa opposed the motion. At this time, this motion is on hold pending Judge Boulware hearing more on the subject from the experts.
As discussed about on Show Money in December, it appears that the lawsuit will come down to Plaintiffs’ expert’s assertion that the way to determine antitrust injury is based on “wage share” versus “wage level.” Wage share, adopted by Plaintiffs’ is looking at the wages of athletes in comparison with the revenues of the company. Wage level, adopted by Zuffa, is looking at the wages over a period of time and not in comparison with company revenues. Clearly, a wage share outlook would favor Plaintiffs if they are asserting that their salaries have been artificially depressed due to anticompetitive measures by Zuffa. Wage level would favor Zuffa since its clear that salaries have increased over time.
Payout Perspective:
Do not look for the resolution of this case in 2019. Even if Judge Boulware were to dismiss this case, Plaintiffs would seek to appeal the decision. Zuffa would do the same if there would be an unfavorable ruling for its case. The only way this case would end in 2019 is if the parties decided to settle the issue short of trial. While this would be out of the question, if the Judge were to impose his will on the parties to settle, I would foresee this happening.