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Judge dismisses EA from NCAA antitrust lawsuit
Topics |
2011/05/09 09:00
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A federal judge has dismissed video game maker Electronic Arts Inc. from a high-profile antitrust lawsuit challenging the NCAA's long-standing prohibition against paying student athletes for their performance.
But U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken on Monday refused to drop the bulk of the case, which accuses the NCAA and its marketing company of operating an illegal sports marketing monopoly. Led by former UCLA basketball standout Ed O'Bannon, former athletes allege they are forced to forever sign away their commercial rights to play collegiate sports.
The judge refused to dismiss the NCAA and Collegiate Licensing Co. from the lawsuit that seeks to become a class action representing thousands of former football and basketball players who say the NCAA illegally controls their images forever without compensation.
The NCAA responds that players are free to make commercial deals after they leave college. NCAA policy prohibits players from receiving compensation while they are playing.
The judge said there is enough evidence to continue the litigation. But she said Monday that there was no evidence that Redwood City-based EA conspired with the NCAA to deny the players compensation and she dismissed the company from the lawsuit.
The O'Bannon case and another led by former Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller are being closely watched because of their potential to dramatically reshape the commercial relationship between the NCAA and its athletes. Keller's lawsuit also alleges that the NCAA is unfairly depriving athletes of their share of revenues generated by their performances. But Keller's lawsuit makes different legal arguments, claiming the NCAA is violating the players' commercial rights when it refuses to cut them in on marketing deals using their images. The Keller lawsuit also names EA as a defendant. |
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Disabled lawyer cranks out lawsuits
Law Center |
2011/05/07 09:02
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Scott Johnson calls himself a crusader for the disabled. The hundreds of small businesses he routinely sues call him a legal extortionist.
Welcome to the rough and tumble world of providing access to the disabled. At the heart of the matter is the American with Disabilities Act, the controversial federal law requiring a minimum level of access in all public places.
Disabled advocates say since no government agency enforces the law, that task has fallen to private attorneys who file lawsuits to compel the noncompliant to provide equal access to all. Because of a quirk in California law, the state stands out as a magnet for disabled-access lawsuits and several lawyers have made a name for themselves as frequent filers.
Few, though, are as prolific as Johnson.
Since 2004, Johnson has filed more than 1,000 boiler plate lawsuits in Sacramento federal court, slightly tweaking the documents to fit the target: a restaurant's service counter is too high or an apartment complex doesn't have enough disabled parking. Just last week, the Carmichael lawyer filed more than two dozen lawsuits, mostly aimed at apartment complexes. |
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Court puts Carl Lewis back on NJ primary ballot
Topics |
2011/05/06 08:33
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Track and field legend Carl Lewis finally found a court willing to help him get into the race for the New Jersey state Senate — but there's a chance his run will be fleeting.
A three-judge panel of the Philadelphia-based U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that Lewis' name should be included when the ballots are printed for the 8th Legislative District Democratic state Senate primary. While the three-judge panel granted that emergency request, it didn't make a final ruling on whether he's eligible for office.
Lewis' lawyer, William Tambussi, said that under the ruling, the voters, not a partisan elected official, will decide who should be the state senator in the 8th Legislative District.
Republicans contend that Lewis does not meet the state requirement that a candidate live in New Jersey for four years before seeking a seat in the state Senate.
Lewis, 49, grew up in Willingboro before becoming one of track's biggest stars and a nine-time Olympic gold medalist. He bought a home in New Jersey in 2005 and has been assisting with the track team at Willingboro High School since 2007. He went to college in Texas, and he has a home in Pacific Palisades, Calif., and a business in Los Angeles. He registered to vote in New Jersey only last month, just before he announced his candidacy. |
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Court for Fla. woman charged in husband's NY death
Headline News |
2011/05/06 05:32
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Federal prosecutors have been turning up the heat on a Florida woman accused of arranging the 2009 killings of her millionaire husband and mother-in-law.
Narcy Novack of Fort Lauderdale and her brother, Cristobal Veliz of Brooklyn, N.Y., are due in court Friday morning for a status conference.
Novack and Veliz are accused of hiring others to kill Ben Novack in his New York hotel room and Bernice Novack in her Florida home.
Last month, the government added the mother-in-law's killing to the charges against Novack and Veliz. And a prosecutor said another charge — which carries the possibility of the death penalty — may be in store.
Defense attorneys suggested the prosecution was trying to force a guilty plea.
Ben Novack's father built the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach, Fla. |
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Welcome Indiana Trial Lawyers Association Members
Lawyer News |
2011/05/05 09:22
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Today, Brad gave a presentation at the a href=http://www.indianalawupdate.com/entry/Welcome-to-all-Indiana-Trial-Lawyers-Association-MembersIndiana Trial Lawyers/a Association's 23rd Annual Lifetime Achievement Seminar, entitled Working in the Cloud: Using Online Resources to Help Your Practice.
We have links to downloadable copies of Brad's PowerPoint presentation (To view as a PowerPoint, right click on the hyperlink and select Save Target as....
To access the hyperlinks contained within the PowerPoint, right click on each logo button as select Open hyperlink), which contains links to websites mentioned in the presentation, and handout.nbsp; Brad has also prepared bundles of blogs he follows, including legal blogs and technology blogs aimed at lawyers. |
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4 guilty in $5.2M Medicare fraud scheme in Houston
Law Center |
2011/05/05 09:19
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Four people have been convicted in Houston of conspiring to defraud the Medicare program out of $5.2 million over a three-year period.
A Justice Department statement identifies the four convicted Wednesday as 46-year-old Ezinne Ubani, 45-year-old Caroline Njoku and 47-year-old Terrie Porter, all of Houston, and 55-year-old Mary Ellis of Missouri City.
The federal jury in Houston acquitted 62-year-old Estella Joseph of Houston, all after a 15-day trial before U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 20-21. Ubani and Ellis could receive up to 20 years in prison, Njoku could get up to 15 years in prison, while Porter could get up to 10 years in prison. |
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