In a very brief hearing on the UFC Antitrust lawsuit determining class certification, Judge Richard Boulware certified the bout class, but denied the identity class of the plaintiffs.
From plaintiffs’ Complaint, the Bout Class has the potential to be over 1,200 fighters. The Identity Class impacted fewer athletes since not every fighter that fought during the timeframe had their name or likeness used by the promotion.
Judge Boulware made it short and sweet and certified the bout class of plaintiffs which started with 6 fighters can balloon to 1,214 fighters seeking between $600 million and $1.6 billion in damages without estimating the possibility of treble damages (triple actual damages).
Judge Boulware noted that the opinion is likely to come out on Monday and will await the parties to confer on mediation, if appropriate, or an appeal on either side.
The identity class relates to image rights of athletes who collect royalties for the use of their image or likeness. A specific example of this would be the UFC’s video games. Notably, Nate Quarry’s case against the UFC is over as he was only a member of the identity class.
The lawsuit was filed in December 2014 and finally moves forward, pending an appeal, to class action status and a potential trial.
Payout Perspective:
All involved will be interested in the opinion as one might expect dual appeals. One from Zuffa and another from plaintiffs. This was not a clear win on either side since neither got everything they wanted. Still, the plaintiffs received the best news here as the court issued class action status for the biggest portion of claims against Zuffa.
MMA Payout will continue to follow.
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