This is the important part
The high court reversed a lower court ruling throwing out an antitrust suit brought against the league by one of its former hat makers, who was upset that it lost its contract for making official NFL hats to Reebok International Ltd.
American Needle, Inc. sued, claiming the
league violated antitrust law because all 32 teams worked together to freeze it out of the NFL-licensed hatmaking business and gave Reebok an exclusive 10-year license.
The company lost and appealed to the Supreme Court but the NFL did as well, hoping to get broader protection from antitrust lawsuits.
American Needle's antitrust lawsuit now heads back to the lower court. The NFL said in a statement released after the ruling Monday that it was confident it would ultimately be victorious.
In its statement, the NFL noted that the Supreme Court's decision only pertained to merchandise and didn't affect "collective bargaining, which is governed by labor law."
"In today's decision, the Supreme Court recognized that 'special characteristics' of professional sports leagues, including the need for competitive balance, 'may well justify' business decisions that among independent competitors would otherwise be unlawful. The court noted that the NFL teams' shared interest in making the league successful and cooperating to produce NFL football provide 'a perfectly sensible justification for making a host of collective decisions,'" the NFL said.
The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 against the NFL.
This gives the class action lawsuit against the NFL over Madden some backup.
http://www.hbsslaw.com/cases-investigations/maddennflDate Filed: June 5, 2008
Court: U.S. District Court
Location: California
Ticker Symbol: ERTS
Hagens Berman filed a class-action lawsuit against Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) claiming the company engaged in unlawful and anticompetitive agreements that nearly doubled the price of its popular game, Madden NFL.
The lawsuit alleges EA established agreements with the National Football League (NFL), The NFL Players Union, Arena Football League and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), that drove competition out of the market and prevented new competitors from entering.
The agreements resulted in the company's flagship product, Madden NFL, to increase 70 percent from $29.99 to $49.99, the suit states.
Anyone who purchased Madden NFL from August 2005 through present can participate in this suit. You can also contact attorneys at maddenNFL@hbsslaw.com or call (206) 623-7292.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS:
June 5, 2009 - Today, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker partially denied EA's motion to dismiss.
The judge ruled four counts against the gaming company can move forward including violation of the Sherman Act, violations of California's Cartwright Act, violation of California's unfair competition act and unjust enrichment.
We'll continue to update this Web site as the case progresses.
