The trial court in New York has denied the World of Boxing’s Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law or in the alternative, a New Trial. It held that the jury did its job in evaluating the evidence and the credibility of witnesses and based on it was able to produce the jury verdict.
The case arose out of a failed fight between heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder and Alexander Povetkin. MMA Payout has been the only source that has covered this legal case extensively. You can find some of the background here.
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You may recall, the sole issue at trial was whether Povetkin ingested Meldonium post January 1, 2016. When the trial took place in February of this year, the jury did not take long to determine that Povetkin had ingested the drug which was prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency on January 1, 2016. Attorneys for World of Boxing (Povetkin’s promoters) and Povetkin filed a Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law, or in the alternative a new trial. Additionally, in June, the attorneys for WOB claimed a new study may give cause for the Court to open the case back up to litigation and/or set up a new trial.
Judge Andrew Carter of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York determined that World of Boxing’s efforts amounted to an attempt to re-litigate the case. Judge Carter indicated that the jury made the verdict based on the evidence presented and there was no miscarriage of justice or conclusion not based on evidence. He opined that WOB was asking to take as truth the testimony of their experts only in coming to a jury verdict. The Court also determined that the jury based its decision on their impressions of Alexander Povetkin as he was able to testify at trial. Bluntly, the Court stated in its opinion that the jury flat out did not believe his testimony. Moreover, the new study that was produced by WOB attorneys in June was available online on February 6, 2016, which was the first day of trial. Yet, it was not brought up at trial.
Payout Perspective:
The Court ruling comes over 8 months after the jury verdict. The case may not die yet as WOB still has an opportunity to appeal to the 2nd Circuit. If it does not, the issues of court costs and fees arise. Also, there is the case of what happens to the money that has/had been in escrow which is one of the forgotten issues here. In reviewing the case, it appears that the first issue with the handling of the case was the agreement to limit the case to just one issue regarding the use of Meldonium. The carrot of having a shorter discovery schedule and a trial date sooner than later was likely a reason why the parties decided. However, as we saw, the case involved issues related to the late production of discovery and experts.
The litigation was marred by contentious behavior as the order included a sentence about the parties’ behavior stating, “The Court takes exception to the behavior of both parties throughout the pendency of this litigation. The parties are once again ordered to proceed with civility and in conformance with the Court’s local rules.”
MMA Payout will have more on this as it comes down.
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