Sports Report

Broadcasting

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a grant of summary judgment in favor of an agency on claims by client William Webb over the agency's failure to procure Webb a position as baseball director at Fox Sports or Madison Square Garden Networks. Webb v. Robert Lewis Rosen Associates Ltd. (RLR), 04-4147. William Webb's suit alleged, among other things, breach of contract, fraudulent inducement and breach of fiduciary duty. The appeals court noted, in its unpublished opinion, that though a letter from RLR to Fox had mentioned another RLR client as qualified for the position Webb sought, the letter also stated the other client was unavailable and that Webb was “the finest baseball director in America today.” Both the agency and the letter's recipient at Fox had confirmed in testimony that the correspondence indeed touted Webb as the only viable candidate. The appeals court further found that “any allegations of disloyalty or unjust enrichment accruing after the parties' 1997 extension [of the agent] agreement would, pursuant to the express terms of that document, have been subject to arbitration and, thus, not properly the subject of litigation in the district court. … [B]ecause Webb failed to pursue in arbitration claims for unjust enrichment and breach of fiduciary duty based on defendants' allegedly disloyal 1999 conduct, we conclude that he waived the right to raise them in the district court.”

Broadcasting

The Supreme Court of New York, New York County, decided that SportsChannel Associates could proceed with a breach-of-contract claim alleging that defendant Sterling Mets had entered into an agreement to license the TV rights to New York Mets games to a third party while an agreement for those rights with SportsChannel was in effect. SportsChannel Assocs. v. Sterling Mets L.P., 603548/04. However, the trial court dismissed SportsChannel's claim of breach of a “first negotiation/first refusal” clause in the agreement between the plaintiff and Sterling Mets, noting that once Sterling “exercised its [buyout] Option [in its agreement with SportsChannel], Sterling could immediately start negotiating with third parties. SportsChannel's exclusive negotiation rights were extinguished in May 2004 when Sterling delivered an early termination notice [that SportsChannel would lose the TV rights after the 2005 baseball season] and paid SportsChannel $54 million. … The Buyout Provision states that the right to terminate the Contract is 'exercised' by delivering written notice and paying the early termination fee. Read together, the two provisions mean that, by exercising the Option, Sterling immediately terminated SportsChannel's specific rights under the [first negotiation/first refusal] Provisions, but caused the rights under its Contract as a whole to terminate on a future date.”

Defamation

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a district court verdict that world middleweight boxing champion Bernard Hopkins defamed boxing promoter Lou DiBella with a statement Hopkins made that was published on maxboxing.com. DiBella v. Hopkins, 03-7012. The appeals court initially ruled that DiBella would have to prove that Hopkins spoke with actual malice. This, according to the court, because “DiBella's achievements in the boxing industry are plain from the record, and the success with which he sought and obtained the public's attention by organizing and promoting boxing bouts seen by millions of HBO subscribers makes his characterization as a public figure appropriate.” Hopkins had stated in the maxboxing.com interview that former Home Box Office executive DiBella, the “principal architect” of HBO's boxing programming, had accepted $50,000 from Hopkins, who appeared in a HBO boxing match, while DiBella worked at HBO. But the appeals court concluded: “There is evidence that, when viewed in the light most favorable to DiBella, clearly and convincingly shows that the statements Hopkins made about the nature of his $50,000 payment to DiBella were false and that Hopkins knew or should have known they were false when he made them, or that he spoke with reckless disregard of the statements' truth or falsity. Thus, Hopkins acted with actual malice.” The court emphasized that the $50,000 payment Hopkins made had been an advance for services DiBella was to provide Hopkins after DiBella left HBO. Also, senior HBO officials had been aware of DiBella's contacts with Hopkins.

Wrestler Injuries

The Court of Appeals of Georgia, Third Division, upheld summary judgment for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), now owned by Universal Wrestling, on contract-related and tort claims arising out of injuries sustained by wrestler Sid Vicious (plaintiff Sidney Eudy) during a choreographed wrestling match. Eudy v. Universal Wrestling Corp., A04A2059. The court of appeals first noted: “Because WCW complied with the terms of [its 3-year contract with Vicious], which unambiguously set out what would happen if Eudy became injured, the trial court did not err in granting summary judgment to WCW on Eudy's claims for improper reduction in pay, failure to pay full compensation for PPV [pay-per-view] events, and improper contract termination.” Vicious also alleged claims of breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress and tortious interference with contractual relations. On these claims, the court of appeals concluded, “Because the parties agreed in the contract that Eudy accepted workers compensation benefits as his sole and exclusive remedy, he is foreclosed from bringing these tort claims against WCW.” But the court also ruled that, even though WCW argued that any modification of its contract with Eudy had to be in writing, there was a genuine issue of material fact as to whether WCW breached an oral agreement to pay Eudy for a pay-per-view event in which he didn't appear.

Broadcasting

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a grant of summary judgment in favor of an agency on claims by client William Webb over the agency's failure to procure Webb a position as baseball director at Fox Sports or Madison Square Garden Networks. Webb v. Robert Lewis Rosen Associates Ltd. (RLR), 04-4147. William Webb's suit alleged, among other things, breach of contract, fraudulent inducement and breach of fiduciary duty. The appeals court noted, in its unpublished opinion, that though a letter from RLR to Fox had mentioned another RLR client as qualified for the position Webb sought, the letter also stated the other client was unavailable and that Webb was “the finest baseball director in America today.” Both the agency and the letter's recipient at Fox had confirmed in testimony that the correspondence indeed touted Webb as the only viable candidate. The appeals court further found that “any allegations of disloyalty or unjust enrichment accruing after the parties' 1997 extension [of the agent] agreement would, pursuant to the express terms of that document, have been subject to arbitration and, thus, not properly the subject of litigation in the district court. … [B]ecause Webb failed to pursue in arbitration claims for unjust enrichment and breach of fiduciary duty based on defendants' allegedly disloyal 1999 conduct, we conclude that he waived the right to raise them in the district court.”

Broadcasting

The Supreme Court of New York, New York County, decided that SportsChannel Associates could proceed with a breach-of-contract claim alleging that defendant Sterling Mets had entered into an agreement to license the TV rights to New York Mets games to a third party while an agreement for those rights with SportsChannel was in effect. SportsChannel Assocs. v. Sterling Mets L.P., 603548/04. However, the trial court dismissed SportsChannel's claim of breach of a “first negotiation/first refusal” clause in the agreement between the plaintiff and Sterling Mets, noting that once Sterling “exercised its [buyout] Option [in its agreement with SportsChannel], Sterling could immediately start negotiating with third parties. SportsChannel's exclusive negotiation rights were extinguished in May 2004 when Sterling delivered an early termination notice [that SportsChannel would lose the TV rights after the 2005 baseball season] and paid SportsChannel $54 million. … The Buyout Provision states that the right to terminate the Contract is 'exercised' by delivering written notice and paying the early termination fee. Read together, the two provisions mean that, by exercising the Option, Sterling immediately terminated SportsChannel's specific rights under the [first negotiation/first refusal] Provisions, but caused the rights under its Contract as a whole to terminate on a future date.”

Defamation

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a district court verdict that world middleweight boxing champion Bernard Hopkins defamed boxing promoter Lou DiBella with a statement Hopkins made that was published on maxboxing.com. DiBella v. Hopkins, 03-7012. The appeals court initially ruled that DiBella would have to prove that Hopkins spoke with actual malice. This, according to the court, because “DiBella's achievements in the boxing industry are plain from the record, and the success with which he sought and obtained the public's attention by organizing and promoting boxing bouts seen by millions of HBO subscribers makes his characterization as a public figure appropriate.” Hopkins had stated in the maxboxing.com interview that former Home Box Office executive DiBella, the “principal architect” of HBO's boxing programming, had accepted $50,000 from Hopkins, who appeared in a HBO boxing match, while DiBella worked at HBO. But the appeals court concluded: “There is evidence that, when viewed in the light most favorable to DiBella, clearly and convincingly shows that the statements Hopkins made about the nature of his $50,000 payment to DiBella were false and that Hopkins knew or should have known they were false when he made them, or that he spoke with reckless disregard of the statements' truth or falsity. Thus, Hopkins acted with actual malice.” The court emphasized that the $50,000 payment Hopkins made had been an advance for services DiBella was to provide Hopkins after DiBella left HBO. Also, senior HBO officials had been aware of DiBella's contacts with Hopkins.

Wrestler Injuries

The Court of Appeals of Georgia, Third Division, upheld summary judgment for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), now owned by Universal Wrestling, on contract-related and tort claims arising out of injuries sustained by wrestler Sid Vicious (plaintiff Sidney Eudy) during a choreographed wrestling match. Eudy v. Universal Wrestling Corp., A04A2059. The court of appeals first noted: “Because WCW complied with the terms of [its 3-year contract with Vicious], which unambiguously set out what would happen if Eudy became injured, the trial court did not err in granting summary judgment to WCW on Eudy's claims for improper reduction in pay, failure to pay full compensation for PPV [pay-per-view] events, and improper contract termination.” Vicious also alleged claims of breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress and tortious interference with contractual relations. On these claims, the court of appeals concluded, “Because the parties agreed in the contract that Eudy accepted workers compensation benefits as his sole and exclusive remedy, he is foreclosed from bringing these tort claims against WCW.” But the court also ruled that, even though WCW argued that any modification of its contract with Eudy had to be in writing, there was a genuine issue of material fact as to whether WCW breached an oral agreement to pay Eudy for a pay-per-view event in which he didn't appear.