UFC Lawsuit: Fighters file opposition to Zuffa's motion to dismiss & transfer

[La Paix]

Plaintiffs, including Cung Le, Jon Fitch and Nate Quarry, in the class action antitrust lawsuit against Zuffa have filed their opposition to the UFC's motions to dismiss and transfer. Bloody Elbow looks at some of the more interesting details.

Friday, the plaintiffs in multiple class action suits filed their opposition to Zuffa's motions of dismissal and transfer of venue. There were two separate oppositions, four declarations and numerous exhibits filed, some 100 pages in total. We will surely have further analysis in the future but for now here are some of the more interesting excerpts.

First, some quick background. On December 16, 2014 Cung Le, Nathan Quarry, and Jon Fitch filed a complaint that the UFC had engaged in illegal antitrust activity. Since then four additional - and nearly identical - complaints have been filed, adding Luis Javier Vazquez, Dennis Hallman, Brandon Vera, Pablo Garza, Gabe Ruediger, Mac Danzig, Kyle Kingsbury, and Darren Uyenoyama to the list of named plaintiffs....

Link to full article: UFC Lawsuit: Fighters file opposition to Zuffa's motion to dismiss & transfer - Bloody Elbow

 

[Wild]

In yesterday's opposition to the UFC's motion to transfer venue the plaintiffs argue the forum selection clause, which was cited by the UFC, is inapplicable. "This is an antitrust case. It is not a contractual dispute, or otherwise an action ‘to interpret enforce' any contract."

"The UFC asserts that it will "contest vigorously" the Complaints' allegations that relate to "interpretation of the contracts," and that interpretation is necessary because Plaintiffs do not "specify exactly how the agreements unreasonably restrain competition." Mot. at 11-12. The UFC is wrong. As the Complaints set forth, the UFC's anticompetitive scheme involves the use of contracts to unreasonably restrain competition, aggregately, by preventing competition in the marketplace, giving the UFC the ability to diminish wages. Specifically, the Complaints allege that "all of the UFC's contracts with Fighters—and the exclusionary provisions therein—taken together form part of the UFC's anticompetitive scheme to impair actual or potential rivals and enhance its monopoly power in the Relevant Output Market and monopsony power in the Relevant Input Market." Le Compl. ¶ 115 (emphasis added); see also id. ¶¶ 91-92, 102, 107, 115, 151, 153, 159-61 (detailing how the UFC's overarching anticompetitive scheme, including but not limited to the collective effect of the Agreements, reduces market competition and artificially suppresses compensation below competitive levels). This practical effect is what matters, not how the Agreements should be interpreted or enforced in a breach of contract case.

Interesting....

 

[sparkuri]

Damn right.
"Preliminary" scurred-ness.

This is gonna be awhile

 

[Wild]

Damn right.
"Preliminary" scurred-ness.

This is gonna be awhile

@ErikMagraken - any guess on how long this could take to either get to discovery, or be dismissed?

 

[ErikMagraken]

I believe Zuffa's preliminary motion to dismiss is scheduled to be heard in July. There is also a change of venue motion which needs to be heard in the upcoming months.

 

[Wild]

I believe Zuffa's preliminary motion to dismiss is scheduled to be heard in July. There is also a change of venue motion which needs to be heard in the upcoming months.

So just best guess...ball park. How long can you see this taking to completely play out?

 

[ErikMagraken]

So just best guess...ball park. How long can you see this taking to completely play out?

if there's no settlement, several years.

 

[Wild]

Thanks Erik. Do you think there will be a settlement? Dana is on record, saying they're willing to spend $90 million to fight it.

 

[ErikMagraken]

Thanks Erik. Do you think there will be a settlement? Dana is on record, saying they're willing to spend $90 million to fight it.

I honestly have no idea. If they succeed in defeating the lawsuit it's basically a judicial seal of approval with respect to their past business practices. That would be a valuable asset for Zuffa as business loves certainty so I can see why they are prepared to invest a lot of money in defending the claim.

That said, what I would like to see come out of all this is a meaningful fighters association being formed where certain guaranteed protections for fighters exist such as retaining some intellectual property rights over their fight footage and having fewer restrictive terms in their contracts.

 

[ThatOneDude]

Would it have been smarter to file a lawsuit claiming they are employees even though Zuffa says they are contractors? It's a conversation I've seen brought up a few times, not sure if it would have any affect on this current round of lawsuits.

 

[Wild]

That said, what I would like to see come out of all this is a meaningful fighters association being formed where certain guaranteed protections for fighters exist such as retaining some intellectual property rights over their fight footage and having fewer restrictive terms in their contracts.

You and me both. I hope that is the end result.

 

[ChaosOverkill]

There will be a Fighters Guild, maybe not soon but eventually. The similarities to actors and studios is multiple, it wouldn't be the exact same as SAG for instance but it would be a hybrid off of that and could even go so far as to cover refffing and the rules for professionals not employed directlly by Zuffa and an apprenticeship system.

 

[sparkuri]

Yeah Dana said in the media 90 mil, but that number isn't indicitive of reality.
As the case gets closer, and Zuffa loses battle after battle, that number could triple.
I think they were just testing the waters with releasing that number.
Which imo was idiotic.
It wouldn't surprise me if Daddy Fert. talked turkey with egg and "let that slip out" purposely knowing egg didn't have the discipline or foresight to zip it during meet n greets, etc.

 

[lookoutawhale]

@ErikMagraken do you think this case will make it to the discovery process from what you've seen?

I would really like to see the real numbers on how the profits are shared.

 

[ErikMagraken]

Would it have been smarter to file a lawsuit claiming they are employees even though Zuffa says they are contractors? It's a conversation I've seen brought up a few times, not sure if it would have any affect on this current round of lawsuits.

@ErikMagraken do you think this case will make it to the discovery process from what you've seen?

I would really like to see the real numbers on how the profits are shared.

I have no idea if it will but like you I would be interested if it does as more revealing information about the actual business would come to light.

 

[lookoutawhale]

Yeah i found it pretty interesting when Dana was telling everyone that the fighters dont want anyone to know how much they make, then when the Alvarez contract came out to light in court it was recealed that the UFC contract states that the fighters are not allowed to disclose payment details to anyone other than their manager.

When someone asked Dana and Lorenzo were asked about that, they said its nobody's business how much they make. quite underhanded.

 

[Wild]

Yeah i found it pretty interesting when Dana was telling everyone that the fighters dont want anyone to know how much they make, then when the Alvarez contract came out to light in court it was recealed that the UFC contract states that the fighters are not allowed to disclose payment details to anyone other than their manager.

When someone asked Dana and Lorenzo were asked about that, they said its nobody's business how much they make. quite underhanded.

ZUFFA DOESN'T WANT ANYONE TO KNOW WHAT THE FIGHTERS MAKE. Believe that. There would be a fucking mutiny on their hands.

 

[lookoutawhale]

ZUFFA DOESN'T WANT ANYONE TO KNOW WHAT THE FIGHTERS MAKE. Believe that. There would be a fucking mutiny on their hands.

^ yup leading by dissension. They don't want the fighters to come to an agreement on how they are being ripped off. They really need a union so collective bargaining can take place.

The only way you can rip someone off is by paying them little, getting them to believe they are getting paid well but then telling them they cant tell anyone.

 

[Wild]

^ yup leading by dissension. They don't want the fighters to come to an agreement on how they are being ripped off. They really need a union so collective bargaining can take place.

The only way you can rip someone off is by paying them little, getting them to believe they are getting paid well but then telling them they cant tell anyone.

Yes sir. I truly believe it's all going to come out in the near future though (I give it 3 years), regardless of whether the lawsuit is successful or not. I think a Fighter Association is inevitable, and when that happens, the skeletons are going to come falling out of closets like a motherfucker.

 

[lookoutawhale]

Yes sir. I truly believe it's all going to come out in the near future though (I give it 3 years), regardless of whether the lawsuit is successful or not. I think a Fighter Association is inevitable, and when that happens, the skeletons are going to come falling out of closets like a motherfucker.

I hope that they can get to that discovery portion quickly. I have no idea how fast it will be. The settlement could take years but if the media find out that Zuffa was taking a super disproportionate amount of money it will really hurt the Zuffa brand. All those years of them saying they pay fair and then only to find out they are taking 70% of all the profits could be major.

 

[Wild]

All those years of them saying they pay fair and then only to find out they are taking 70% of all the profits could be major.

Everyone knows they're lying about the numbers. The fighters know and the media knows. People are just scared shitless to question it, or call them on it. One, because they can't fully prove it because Zuffa's a private company. Two, fear of the repercussions...the fighters being cut or shelved, and the media members being fired from their jobs because Zuffa has pressured their employers to do so (which @Brian J. D'Souza has confirmed is and has happened).