Subscribers Defend $4.7 Billion Antitrust Verdict Against NFL in Court Filings

The National Football League (NFL) has challenged a $4.7 billion verdict awarded to subscribers who accused the league of conspiring to inflate the cost of out-of-market game subscriptions. According to Bloomberg, the NFL is pushing for either an overturned verdict or a new trial, arguing that the jury’s damages calculation was based on a “made-up methodology.”

The subscribers, however, staunchly defended the federal jury’s decision in recent court filings. They maintain that the $4.7 billion award is well-supported by the evidence presented during the trial. Their attorneys emphasized that while the verdict was less than the $7 billion initially sought, such substantial damages are not unusual in modern antitrust cases due to the significant amount of commerce involved.

In a motion filed on Wednesday, the plaintiffs urged Judge Philip S. Gutierrez of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to uphold the verdict and reject the NFL’s motion for a new trial. They argued that the jury’s award falls within the acceptable range based on the evidence, referencing Ninth Circuit precedent which states that if a jury’s award is supported by evidence, courts should not interfere.

Related: NFL Petitions Judge to Overturn $4.7 Billion ‘Sunday Ticket’ Verdict

The controversy stems from a June verdict where jurors found that the NFL conspired with DirecTV to inflate subscription prices for out-of-market games. Subscribers claimed they were forced to pay high prices to watch games even when their preferred teams were not playing.

The NFL contended on July 5 that the jurors dismissed damage calculations presented by expert witnesses and instead relied on their own erroneous methods. However, the plaintiffs countered that the jury is entitled to make its own calculations and that the league cannot speculate on the jurors’ deliberation process.

The plaintiffs’ filing stated, “Defendants flip on their head nearly 100 years of the Supreme Court’s Sherman Act jurisprudence, decades of Ninth Circuit law on damages, and the jury’s findings.” They further highlighted that the jury’s decision aligns with established legal standards.

Under federal antitrust law, the $4.7 billion in damages could potentially be tripled to $14 billion, making this one of the most significant antitrust verdicts in recent history.

The case, known as In re National Football League Sunday Ticket Antitrust Litigation, continues to unfold under docket number 2:15-ml-02668, with both sides awaiting further rulings from Judge Gutierrez.

Source: News Bloomberg Law