IP 360, a legal daily focusing on issues in intellectual property reports on the recent motion for sanctions in a trade secret lawsuit filed in Illinois involving an MMA reality show focusing on women. The producers claims that several fighters on Ultimate Women’s Challenge revealed results of the yet-to-be aired show.
UPDATE: 02/10/12 – Just to clarify, this lawsuit was filed last year and was covered by other web sites, including MMA HQ, which was one of the named web sites in the complaint that released results from the show. MMA Weekly also had a post on this last spring and was another web site named in the lawsuit. Sherdog was the third web site named as one that released info on the show prior to its airing. SEM claims that either the fighters involved in this lawsuit or their attorneys leaked the info of the results. These web sites were NOT parties to the lawsuit, just identified in the complaint.
The updated info last week relates to defendants’ motion seeking sanctions against SEM in claiming that the lawsuit lacks jurisdiction and the trade secret claim is baseless. So, the takeaway here is the fighters’ attorneys argument that SEM’s trade secret cause of action is without merit. According to defense counsel, in order to make a claim under Illinois Trade Secret law, there must be a showing of 1) an alleged trade secret; 2) misappropriated and 3) used by the defendants in its business. Defendants claim that SEM cannot make a claim under Illinois law considering that the fighters’ business is MMA and do not own or produce reality television.
Here’s the background:
Essentially, Sean Morrison Entertainment, LLC (SEM) is suing a Wisconsin law firm and several of the women fighters that were contestants on the show for allegedly revealing results. The fighters claim that they were not paid for their participation on the show. In filing a claim for nonpayment, they revealed results of the show.
Ultimate Women’s Challenge finished production in September 2010 but has yet to air. Originally, it was scheduled for NBC although there are no signs it will be on NBC or its new sports network.
The fighters claim that the trade secret lawsuit filed by SEM has no merit since the fighters are not a business seeking to compete with SEM. Also, the fighters and law firm are requesting sanctions for what they perceive as a harassment lawsuit which only is meant to drive up litigation costs.
SEM claims that the wage lawsuit filed by the fighters should have been filed under seal so the public would not be able to access the facts of the lawsuit. Also, SEM claims, regardless of the lawsuit, attorneys and fighters leaked results of the show.
In its motion seeking sanctions, the fighters also argued that jurisdiction (the court which the lawsuit should be filed) in Illinois was not appropriate. And to reaffirm the fact that lawyers can be prickly, here’s a portion of the fighters’ response to the jurisdiction issue in SEM’s lawsuit:
Either plaintiffs’ counsel lacks the knowledge of a first-year law student or, more likely, its Illinois attorney chose to ignore the law and decided to file in Illinois anyway, because as an Illinois-based LLC, this jurisdiction would be most convenient for plaintiff and its attorney, (h/t IP 360)
A copy of the lawsuit and the participation agreement signed by the fighters are here at the Brooklyn Law School Trade Secret Institute page.
Payout Perspective:
UPDATE: The IP 360 article relates to the latest filings in this case in which the attorneys for the fighters have filed a motion for sanctions re SEM’s lawsuit. Notably, defense counsel oppose the jurisdiction as the lawsuit was filed in Illinois and the trade secret claim. The latest motion includes strong contentious language as Rule 11 sanctions are pretty serious. Expect a similar filing back from SEM’s counsel. When attorneys call out attorneys like this, it never is pretty.
It’s been awhile since we last reported on this show, July 2010 to be exact. It’s obviously been shelved indefinitely and will unlikely see television for a variety of reasons, the lawsuit being one of them. From SEM’s perspective, revealing results is the worst thing that could happen to a reality show premised on a tournament where the outcome is uncertain. From the fighters’ perspective, if they were not paid, and SEM denied payment, it seems like a claim for wages was the only other way to seek payment. The participation agreement (at paragraph 5) indicates that the fighters will be paid $1,000 plus $100 for each day on the show. Based on this, one can deduce from a fighter’s complaint for wage how long an individual lasted on the show. The participation agreement is an interesting read in the rights of the contestants and is a glimpse into the world of reality television contracts.
MMA Payout will keep track of this litigation as it progresses.
MMA HQ covered this extensively over a year ago.
Well, the fighters did make the mistake of making a filing which contained confidential information, publicly. So imhlo they are in breach of the “Agreement”; a document convoluted, poorly drafted, full of grammatical errors and ambiguities.
It is a bore written by a very old lawyer, and if any fighter signed it without obtaining legal advice beforehand, that person is a complete fool. However, it does describe disclosure of confidential information quite clearly, and the fighters did disclose it. The liquidated damages for breach of the Agreement are stated at $500,000, (each fighter was required to initial that specific paragraph), however, the “Producers” certainly would have been aware that the fighters could in no way ever repay such an amount. That provision makes no sense, but the claim certainly has merit. No sanctions on this.
On filing in the wrong state… since there does not appear to be any link between the fighters and Illinois, it looks like such a nitwit error, there may be sanctions against SEM, but who knows. SEM had to assert some form of jurisdiction for Illinois to try the case in its pleadings, perhaps long-arm jurisdiction as the Agreement may have selected Illinois for all litigation. (I was not willing to spend 4 hours reading the whole thing).
Unclear why SEM did not assert its claims for breach of the Agreement in response to the fighters’ initial pleadings, Perhaps they missed some deadline?
I suspect SEM will find another attorney to file this cause of action for them in the proper forum, unless Illinois actually is it. A LOT of legal arguments could be made here. The court may even reduce the liquidated damages as being unreasonable or unsubstantiated.