Promoter UFC can't strike fighters' class action in US appeals court

Endeavor group

02/11/2023 16:39

By Mike Scarcella
       Nov 2 (Reuters) - Ultimate Fighting Championship has
lost its U.S. appeals court bid to revoke class action status
from hundreds of martial arts fighters who are suing for
billions of dollars in wages, setting the stage for an April
trial.
    The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday spurned
the UFC's pretrial challenge to a ruling that said more than
1,200 fighters could sue as a group seeking upwards of $1.6
billion in damages in the Las Vegas case.
    U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware's August ruling
approved a class of fighters who competed in live professional
UFC-promoted bouts in the U.S. between December 2010 and June
2017. Boulware ruled after Wednesday's appeals court decision
that the April trial date was set and would not be moved.
    The lawsuit claims that Nevada-based Zuffa, which does
business as the UFC, has abused its power to suppress wages in
violation of U.S. antitrust law.
    Attorneys for UFC at law firms Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton
& Garrison and Latham & Watkins had asked the San
Francisco-based 9th Circuit to block Boulware's order. UFC has
denied any wrongdoing.
    The appeals court panel denied UFC's appeal outright without
hearing arguments, saying certain legal factors were not met. 
    Representatives from UFC and Zuffa's parent, sports and
entertainment company Endeavor Group Holdings  EDR.N , did not
immediately respond to requests for comment.
    Plaintiffs' attorney Eric Cramer, chairman of Berger
Montague, said the class welcomed the 9th Circuit's ruling and
was looking forward to the scheduled April 8 trial.
    In its appeal, UFC's lawyers attacked what they called
Boulware's "unprecedented" decision to certify the class. They
said the order was erroneously based on claims that fighter
compensation did not rise as fast as UFC's revenue.
    The plaintiffs' attorneys defended Boulware's order and
denied UFC's claim that it would lead to a "torrent of similar
lawsuits." They told the 9th Circuit that the ruling "applies
only to professional athletes, not ordinary workers."
    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce in a friend-of-the-court brief
had asked the 9th Circuit to reverse the class certification
order.
    
    The case is Le v. Zuffa LLC, U.S. District Court for the
District Of Nevada, No. 2:15-cv-01045.
    
    Read more:
    Martial arts fighters' wage lawsuit against UFC can proceed
as class action

 (Reporting by Mike Scarcella)
 ((Mike.Scarcella@thomsonreuters.com;))