With hearing scheduled in September, Order on UFC Antitrust lawsuit is coming….soon?

Could the UFC Antitrust lawsuit finally come to an end…or will the parties be set for a showdown at trial?  A minute order issued on Wednesday provided no clues as to whether the Court has determined it is certifying the case for class action status or not. 

The plaintiffs filed for Class Action status last year and a weeklong session of hearings was held last August to assess the validity of their claims and whether they should be granted class action status.  If the motion is granted, the lawyers on behalf of the handful of former UFC fighters would represent a class of fighters that claim that the UFC held a monopsony and monopoly over the MMA market of fighters which suppressed wages, prohibited opportunities for the fighters as well as foreclose other promotions from competing in the industry.

The Minute Order, which is a brief text issued by the Court stated a hearing would take place via videoconference to discuss the forthcoming status on the Motion for Class Certification on September 17^th. 

IT IS ORDERED that Status Conference regarding the forthcoming Order as to the [518] MOTION to Certify Class is set for September 17, 2020 at 10:00 AM in LV Courtroom 7C by videoconference appearance before Judge Richard F. Boulware, II.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that members of the public seeking to have access to this hearing must, prior to the day of the hearing, contact the Court by email to request access to and receive permission to listen this hearing by telephone. Members of the public granted such access must join the remote proceedings prior to their official commencement. Once a remote proceeding has begun, no access will be granted to the proceeding.

Payout Perspective: 

The difference between a “status” conference and a “case management” conference is that the former is just and update on the case versus the latter which would infer that the case discusses logistics upon going to trial.  Maybe semantics but it would seem that the case is not dismissed outright.  Maybe the court has more questions?  I would believe that the court is leaning (or already has decided) that the case will be certified.  MPO will continue to follow.