The parties in the UFC Antitrust Lawsuit have exchanged objections to exhibits previously submitted to each side. The objections are part of the trial schedule and are lodged with the court to argue prior to the use at August’s hearing with the experts.
For context on the request, Plaintiffs included the email to Zuffa attorneys in which they inquire about the exhibits that they seek to now exclude. Plaintiffs claim that the exhibits are “creating new metrics for analyzing the data (e.g., “Fighter Share Deviations,” Foreclosure Share Deviations,” etc.) or breaking down data in ways that neither Zuffa nor its experts has/have ever before done in this case.”
Exhibit to Plaintiffs’ … by on Scribd
Plaintiffs have objected to exhibits submitted by Zuffa which are “Summary of Exhibits.” The argument relates to expert materials which they claim are “outside the scope of the record created by Zuffa’s economists during expert discovery.” As explained by Plaintiffs, they are “undisclosed consultants” with new analyses and cannot form the basis of Zuffa’s expert presentation.
Plaintiffs in the #UFC antitrust lawsuit have objected to several documents provided by #Zuffa which they argue contain new expert information previously not disclosed. They claim they included a new regression model and even use an exclamation point in the brief. #sportslaw pic.twitter.com/4rcuTJacjM
— Jason Cruz (@dilletaunt) June 16, 2019
Plaintiffs argue that the exhibits that Zuffa would like to use include new information that they did not have possession of for their experts to render an analysis and opinion. This would be untimely and not according to the evidentiary rules per Plaintiffs. The reasoning behind this rule is to give each side a fair opportunity to evaluate the opposing expert’s position and prepare accordingly. Plaintiffs contend that the information should have been provided in a “timely written report” but they did not provide the report to them per the rules of the Court. Plaintiff points to the expert discovery deadline on January 24, 2018.
Payout Perspective:
Zuffa also objected to certain exhibits provided by Plaintiffs for use and we will look at that in another post. In this submission by Plaintiffs, they claim that Zuffa has attempted to submit new information to utilize at the hearing of the experts in late August. Plaintiffs object because of the overarching belief that it is an unfair surprise in that they do not have an opportunity to rebut the new information. Plaintiffs point to the expert deadline to submit reports as a reason why they are seeking to have these exhibits excluded. If excluded by the Court, this could cause significant impact to Plaintiffs case. Of course, its anticipated that Zuffa will argue that the information is not new expert testimony and just a summary of findings already provided to Plaintiffs.
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