The UFC Antitrust Lawsuit has been dormant in 2020 partly due to the pandemic but mainly the parties waited in anticipation of a ruling from last year’s evidentiary hearing and the class action certification. In December, Judge Richard Boulware granted the plaintiffs a major victory by certifying the class of athletes affected per the claims brought by the ex-UFC fighters.
Notably, Judge Boulware is denying the claims regarding the ‘Identity’ class of individuals that were challenging Zuffa’s use of their image or likeness.
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).
Although no opinion has been produced as of yet, one would surmise that Zuffa may appeal the decision. Also, the plaintiffs may appeal the denial of the ‘Identity’ class. Any appeal would be elevated to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The process from appeal to when the appeals court would render a decision could be from 2-4 years. At that point, the case would be remanded back to Judge Boulware where it would be litigated barring a settlement.
The opinion that the Judge will issue will be scrutinized by all. It will be the first time that the economic theory of wage share and the regression formula would be used to measure damages in an antitrust case.
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