Law360 reports that Showtime Networks is asking that lawsuits stemming from poor streaming feeds for the Mayweather-McGregor fight be heard in New York.
Currently, there are 8 lawsuits across the nation in which plaintiffs claim that they paid to watch the Mayweather-McGregor fight but could not or received poor video streams. The first was filed in federal court in Oregon. Since then, there have been lawsuits in California and New York.
Showtime claimed that the venue for the lawsuits should be in federal court in New York despite the fact that the UFC, a Nevada company, is named in the lawsuits. The network notes that one of the defendants, the UFC’s digital partner NeuLion, is based out of Long Island, New York. Also, Showtime and co-defendant Showtime Digital, Inc. are based out of New York.
The argument to consolidate in New York is that it would prevent inconsistent rulings and cut down on the number of plaintiffs’ counsel taking part. In the alternative, the case should be transferred to Nevada where the fight took place, where the UFC is based and where the fight took place.
Payout Perspective:
The request by Showtime is normal in multidistrict litigation as the parties are trying to consolidate on costs and prevent inconsistent rulings. It also helps plan litigation strategy and determine which cases have merit and which do not. Without knowing the merits of each of the cases, it would be surprising if Showtime, the UFC and the other defendants do not file a motion to dismiss based on prior rulings which include the recent Mayweather-Pacquiao lawsuits which were dismissed by a court in August.
Leave a Reply