Justia Entertainment & Sports Law Opinion Summaries

Petitioners, large entertainment companies, sought review of the Commission's order requiring the major cable companies who were applying for merger to submit certain proprietary documents for review and proposal to make them available for examination by other players in the cable industry on an expedited schedule. The court granted the petition for review and vacated the order, concluding that the Commission has failed to overcome its presumption against disclosure of confidential information by failing to explain why VPCI is a "necessary link in a chain of evidence that will resolve an issue before the Commission." The order amounts to a substantive and important departure from prior Commission policy, and the Commission has failed to explain the departure. View "CBS Corp. v. FCC" on Justia Law

These appeals stemmed from an opinion and order filed in March 2014 which: (1) granted summary judgment to Pandora on the issue of whether the consent decree governing the licensing activities of ASCAP unambiguously precludes partial withdrawals of public performance licensing rights and (2) set the rate for the Pandora-ASCAP license for the period of January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2015 at 1.85% of revenue. In this case, the partially withdrawn works at issue remain in the ASCAP repertory under the plain language of the consent decree. The court concluded that, since section VI of the decree provides for blanket licenses covering all works contained in the ASCAP repertory, it necessarily follows that the partial withdrawals do not affect the scope of Pandora's license. In regards to rate-setting, the court concluded that the district court did not commit clear error in its evaluation of the evidence or in its ultimate determination that a 1.85% rate was reasonable for the duration of the Pandora-ASCAP license. Further, the district court's legal determinations underlying the ultimate conclusion - including its rejection of various alternative benchmarks proffered by ASCAP - were sound. Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court's orders. View "Pandora Media v. American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers" on Justia Law

Steve "Wild Thing" Ray wrestled in the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) from 1990 to 1994. His matches were filmed. Ray specifically agreed that the films would be "sold and used." Since his retirement from the UWF, Ray has promoted healthcare products and weightlifting supplements. ESPN obtained films of his wrestling matches and re-telecast them throughout North America and Europe without obtaining his "consent to use [his] identity, likeness, name, nick name, or personality to depict him in any way." Ray does not allege that ESPN obtained the films unlawfully. Ray filed suit, asserting, under Missouri state law: invasion of privacy, misappropriation of name, infringement of the right of publicity, and interference with prospective economic advantage. The Eighth Circuit affirmed dismissal on the grounds of preemption by the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. 101. Ray's wrestling performances were part of the copyrighted material, and his likenesses could not be detached from the copyrighted performances contained in the films. Ray has not alleged that his name and likeness were used to promote or endorse any type of commercial product. His complaints are based solely on ESPN airing video recordings depicting him in a "work of authorship," which is plainly encompassed by copyright law. View "Ray v. ESPN, Inc." on Justia Law

Debtor is a talented singer. Wilson agreed to help manage the Debtor’s career. The two entered into a series of agreements. Wilson claims to have spent significant funds to advance Debtor’s career, but did not identify any related debts in his own 2008 bankruptcy. Debtor filed a Chapter 7 petition in 2012. Wilson filed an adversary proceeding and appealed bankruptcy court rulings denying his requests for: a judgment of nondischargeability under 11 U.S.C. 523; a money judgment; enforcement of a money judgment against Debtor’s non-filing spouse or her company; and denial of the Debtor’s discharge under 11 U.S.C. 727. The Eighth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel affirmed, finding that Debtor owed no debt to Wilson. Two contracts between the Debtor and Wilson were void as unconscionable; Wilson had no claim for a lost investment in the Debtor or his career. Wilson had no cause of action under section 523 and there was no basis upon which to deny the Debtor’s discharge, View "Wilson v. Walker" on Justia Law

Time Warner Cable buys content from programmers, who require it to offer their channels as part of TW’s enhanced basic cable programming tier. TW paid the Lakers $3 billion for licensing rights to televise Lakers games for 20 years. Subscription rates rose by $5 a month as result. TW paid the Dodgers $8 billion for the licensing rights to televise games for 25 years, raising monthly rates by another $4. Subscribers filed a class action lawsuit, alleging that the arrangement violated the unfair competition law (Bus. & Prof. Code 17200) because: acquisition of licensing rights to the games made TW both programmer and distributor; surveys showed that more than 60 percent of the population would not pay separately to watch the games; there were no valid reasons for bundling sports stations into the enhanced basic cable tier instead of offering them separately; TW expanded the reach of this scheme by selling its rights to the games to other providers, requiring those providers to include the channels as part of their enhanced basic tiers; and the teams knew the increased costs would be passed on to unwilling subscribers and were intended beneficiaries of these arrangements. The court of appeal affirmed dismissal: regulations implementing federal communications statutes expressly preempt the suit. View "Fischer v. Time Warner Cable Inc." on Justia Law

In 2001, N.D. Laws 53-06.2-10.1 was amended to authorize “account wagering,” a form of parimutuel wagering in which an individual deposits money in an account and, through a licensed simulcast service provider authorized to operate a simulcast parimutuel wagering system, uses the balance to pay for parimutuel wagers. The legislature did not make corresponding changes to section 53-06.2-11 or otherwise alter the statutory takeout formulas to authorize a tax on account wagering until 2007. Racing Services (RSI), formerly a state-licensed horse racing simulcast service provider, filed bankruptcy. PW Enterprises, its largest non-governmental creditor filed suit on behalf of all creditors to recover money the state collected from RSI as taxes on parimutuel account wagering. The district court held that the money must be returned to the bankruptcy estate because North Dakota law did not authorize the state to collect taxes on account wagering before 2007. The Eighth Circuit affirmed. Though some members of the legislature may have understood account wagering would be taxed similarly to existing forms of parimutuel wagering, that belief does not make the statute as written ambiguous or require a court to strain to infer a legislative intent that is entirely absent from the statutory language. View "PW Enters., Inc. v. North Dakota" on Justia Law

Rex Woodard entered into a written agreement to ghostwrite the autobiography (the "Work") of Thomas DeVito, one of the original members of the "Four Seasons" band later known as "Jersey Boys." After Woodward passed away, DeVito registered the Work with the U.S. Copyright Office solely under his own name in 1991. DeVito and another former "Four Seasons" band member, Nicholas Macioci, executed an agreement with two of their former bandmates, Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio, which granted Valli and Gaudio the exclusive rights to use aspects of their lives to develop a musical stage performance (the "Play") about the "Four Seasons." Plaintiff, Woodward's widow, subsequently filed suit alleging that the Play constitutes, at least in part, a "derivative work" of the DeVito autobiography, the right to create which resides exclusively in the copyright-holders of the underlying work, and their lawful successors, assignees, and licensees. The court concluded that the 1999 Agreement constitutes a transfer of ownership of DeVito's derivative-work right in the Work to Valli and Gaudio; Sybersound Records, Inc. v. UAV Corp. presents no obstacle to DeVito's exclusive transfer of his derivative-work right to Valli and Gaudio under the 1999 Agreement; copyright co-owners must account to one another for any profits earned by exploiting that copyright; and, therefore, the district court erred in rejecting plaintiff's claims for accounting and declaratory relief. Further, defendants have necessarily failed to establish the existence of a license as an affirmative defense to plaintiff's infringement action. The court also concluded that summary judgment for defendants on plaintiff's claims of infringement under foreign law grounds must be reversed. Accordingly, the court reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants, vacated its assessment of costs against plaintiff, and remanded for further proceedings. View "Corbello v. Valli" on Justia Law

Todd McNair, a former assistant football coach at the University of Southern California, sued the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The NCAA specially moved to strike plaintiff’s complaint on the ground the action was a strategic lawsuit against public participation (Code Civ. Proc., 425.16) and moved the court to seal certain records. Although the court denied the motion to seal, it conditionally sealed the documents pending appellate review. In connection with appeal from the denial of its special motion to strike, NCAA moved the court of appeal to seal the same documents lodged as part of the appellate record. The court denied the motion, noting the public’s First Amendment right of access to documents used at trial or as a basis of adjudication and a presumption of openness of substantive court proceedings in ordinary cases. To seal records, courts must find that there is an overriding interest supporting sealing records; there is a substantial probability that the interest will be prejudiced absent sealing; the proposed sealing is narrowly tailored to serve the overriding interest; and there is no less restrictive means of achieving that interest. NCAA failed to carry its burden to demonstrate that its interest in the confidentiality of its enforcement proceedings overrides the constitutional right of access and the presumption of openness, or how that interest would be prejudiced if the documents were disclosed. View "McNair v. Nat. Collegiate Athletic Ass'n" on Justia Law

AEG hired Dr. Murray as entertainer Michael Jackson’s personal physician for a concert tour. Michael died of acute propofol intoxication while under Murray’s care. Katherine Jackson, on behalf of herself and as guardian of Michael’s children, Michael Jr., Paris-Michael and Prince Michael, filed suit for negligence hiring, retention, and supervision. The jury found that Murray was not unfit or incompetent to perform the work for which he was hired. The court of appeal affirmed, holding that the trial court did not err in summarily adjudicating negligence because AEG did not owe Michael a duty to refrain from exerting pressure over Murray; AEG did not undertake to provide protective services to Michael; and AEG owed Michael no duty arising out of the contract with Murray. The court also did not err in summarily adjudicating respondeat superior because the undisputed facts establish that Murray was an independent contractor as a matter of law; AEG is not liable under the peculiar risk doctrine as an independent contractor; and Murray was not an agent of AEG. The trial court did not err in instructing the jurors with a modified jury instruction along with the special verdict form; the special verdict was legally sufficient. View "Jackson v. AEG Live, LLC" on Justia Law

MVH and Holy Family Communications each applied to the Federal Communications Commission for a license to operate a noncommercial educational radio station in the vicinity of Buffalo, New York. To do so, the agency used its comparative selection criteria, which it had promulgated through a notice-and-comment rulemaking. By application of those criteria, the Commission found Holy Family had the superior application and awarded it the license. The D.C. Circuit affirmed, rejecting an argument that the criterion upon which the outcome turned--the weight given to an applicant’s plan to broadcast to underserved populations-- either violated the Communications Act of 1934, which requires the Commission to distribute licenses fairly, or was arbitrary and capricious. That criterion is part of a reasonable framework for achieving goals consistent with the Commission’s statutory mandate, and because MVH offered no support for a waiver except that it came close to the threshold it needed to get the license. View "Mary V. Harris Found. v. Fed. Commc'n Comm'n" on Justia Law