Class Counsel Named in NFL Sunday Ticket MDL

On Monday, attorneys from four law firms were appointed as co-lead counsel for Class Members in multidistrict litigation over DirecTV’s exclusive offering of the National Football League’s Sunday Ticket package.

The NFL Sunday Ticket MDL (titled In re: National Football League’s Sunday Ticket Antitrust Litigation) consists of a total of 27 class action lawsuits filed by DirecTV subscribers who claim the company’s exclusive agreement to distribute out-of-market NFL games through its Sunday Ticket package violate federal antitrust laws.

Plaintiffs in the NFL Sunday Ticket class action lawsuits include both residential and commercial subscribers to the DirecTV Sunday Ticket package.

According to the DirecTV Sunday Ticket class action lawsuits, the NFL and DirecTV engaged in an illegal conspiracy to bundle all of the NFL teams’ broadcast rights together and offer the out-of-market games exclusively through DirecTV.

The NFL is reportedly the only major sports league in the United States that distributes out-of-market games exclusively thorough a single provider. Other leagues, including Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League, offer out-of-market packages through a variety of other providers such as Dish Network and Time Warner.

In 2015, DirecTV reportedly paid the NFL $1.5 billion for exclusive out-of-market broadcasting rights.

“We are eager to represent football fans and their favorite gathering places in the country,” Kellie Lerner of Robins Kaplan LLP stated. “The proposed class of fans and commercial establishments allege that they are being forced to pay artificially high prices to view and show NFL games under the unique and anticompetitive terms of the NFL’s and DirecTV’s agreements.”

A California federal judge appointed the attorneys as Class Counsel based on their antitrust MDL experience and other qualifications. Robins Kaplan LLP was one of the first law firms to file a Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit, which was filed in California federal court in August 2015.

The attorneys met at a case management conference earlier this month to come up with a proposed representation structure that would offer the best representation for plaintiffs and the Class. U.S. District Judge Renee A. Fisher rejected only one of the proposed attorneys because she was concerned about the lawyer’s lack of experience with antitrust MDLs.

“Although it is possible that the proposal may not provide the most lean management structure, the court finds that plaintiff’s counsel’s proposal recommends appointment of highly qualified attorneys and law firms, and accommodates for the potential diverging interests among residential consumer plaintiffs and commercial establishment plaintiffs,” Judge Fisher said.

The Class is represented by Hollis Salzman, David Martinez, Michelle Zolnoski and Ben Steinberg of Robins Kaplan LLP, Marc M. Seltzer of Susman Godfrey LLP, Howard I. Langer of Langer, Grogan & Diver LLP and Scott Martin of Hausfeld LLP.

The DirecTV, NFL Sunday Ticket Class Action Lawsuit is In re: National Football League’s “Sunday Ticket” Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 2668, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

UPDATE: On Aug. 8, 2016, the NFL and DirecTV separately asked a California federal court to compel arbitration or dismiss an antitrust multidistrict litigation brought by football fans who allege the NFL DirecTV Sunday Ticket package violates federal antitrust laws.

UPDATE 2: On Oct. 24, 2016, the National Football League argued the plaintiffs cannot show any antitrust actions.