Mark Hunt scored a big victory in his lawsuit against the UFC. On Friday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling which affirmed in part, and denied in part the trial court’s dismissal of Hunt’s case. Long story short, Hunt’s case is being sent back down to the trial court to continue litigating the case.
The appeals court heard the case approximately a week from the date of the issuance of the opinion. The Court sided with the UFC with Hunt’s breach of contract claim in affirming the dismissal of his claims and subsequent damages claim. However, the appeals court stated that the district court did not address Hunt’s theory of the case with respect to the fraud claim as to the fighter’s allegations that Lesnar was doping. Based on the evidence that Hunt was assured by White that Lesnar would be tested for banned substances, the Court sent back down for further discovery as to Hunt’s claim that the former WWE wrestler was allowed or not tested from the use of banned substances.
In addition, the battery claim pled by Hunt was overturned by the Ninth Circuit. The following Footnote explains the rationale as the ruling was predicated on the California Supreme Court Case of Avila v. Citrus Community College District. The Ninth Circuit noted that there was not a factual finding that “doping is within the normal scope of organized MMA activity, nor does the question appear to be beyond reasonable dispute.”
Payout Perspective:
MMA Payout will have more on this next week. But my short analysis of the ruling is that the Court believed that the doping issues with respect to a battery claim was novel and the set of facts when roadmapped by the Avila case did not provide the correct ending. Specifically, the Court recognized the unique issue in MMA, that fighters take banned substances to gain an advantage and while their actions in the cage may not be ‘out of the ordinary’ for a fight, the question of whether there was a duty to ensure safety between combatants is a certain question. I am surprised that the Court opened the issue of fraud back up to debate concerning Hunt’s theory. We shall see how far Hunt and the UFC will want to continue this litigation or if the parties will seek a resolution.
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