BREAKING: DC Federal Court sets hearing date and briefing schedule on legal challenge to Florida sports betting compact. Video hearing is scheduled for Nov. 5 at 10 AM EST. Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment or preliminary injunction must be filed by Sept. 21.
Although the FL statute and compact provide for an Oct. 15 launch date for all sports betting, the reason for the later hearing date of Nov. 5 is based on the Tribe's representation that online sports betting will be implemented in Florida on November 15th (one month later).
Here's what prompted the seemingly out-of-nowhere hearing date and briefing schedule: West Flagler (the operator of Magic City Casino and Bonita Springs Poker Room) and the U.S. Dep't of Interior filed a joint motion yesterday requesting a briefing schedule and hearing date.
"The purpose of this joint motion is to propose a schedule for the Parties to present to the Court the purely legal issues in this case in a time frame that will allow for a decision on those issues by or before November 15, 2021."
From the Joint Motion:
"Plaintiffs argue that the Secretary’s deemed approval of the online sports betting portions of the Compact was contrary to law, arbitrary and capricious, and ultra vires because it allegedly contravenes and exceeds Defendants’ authority under IGRA."
Why the expedited hearing date:
"Plaintiffs contend that certain of their claims present questions of law that may be resolved without the need for production of the administrative record and that they are entitled to summary judgment on those claims."
West Flagler says it will be filing a motion for summary judgment and, in the alternative, a motion for preliminary injunction "no later than September 21, 2021." Likely uptick in PACER search fees that day.
"Further, Plaintiffs contend that they will sustain substantial irreparable harm if the online sports betting provision of the Compact is not preliminarily enjoined or permanently set aside prior to Nov. 15, 2021," when online sports betting is scheduled to become operational.
Here's the briefing schedule:
9/21 - Plaintiffs' MSJ and/or Motion for PI
10/12 - DOI response/cross-motion
10/19 - Plaintiffs' Reply Brief
10/26 - DOI Reply Brief on X-motion
Top lawyer name of the day:
FULL BRIEFING SCHEDULE:
• • •
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A loss in the St. Louis Rams relocation lawsuit could cost the NFL more than $3 billion in damages (before punitives), consisting of disgorgement of LA franchise value increase (latest Forbes valuation is $4.8B) and NFL relocation fee ($550M), plus City’s lost revenues.
A key part of the City’s damages calculation is the disgorgement (return) of profits unjustly conferred upon the NFL, Rams and Kroenke due to alleged improper conduct. See claims of unjust enrichment, fraudulent misrepresentation and tortious interference from City’s complaint.
Under Missouri law, disgorgement and/or restitution of ill-gotten gains is one of the remedies for a claim of unjust enrichment.
The 1st in-stadium sports book in the Northeast will be at Hartford's XL Center, the home of the New York Rangers minor-league affiliate. The 1st sports book in a sports bar in the NE will be Bobby V's, co-owned by former NY Mets manager @BobbyValentine. theday.com/business/20210…
Connecticut immediately leapfrogs New York as an early online sports betting revenue opportunity for NY’s pro sports team owners. The customer database of Madison Square Garden (the owner of the Hartford Wolf Pack) becomes an attractive target for CT operators.
The customer assets of all New York area professional sports teams become valuable targets for Connecticut sports betting operators, which will launch several months before NY online sports betting. NY to Stamford, CT via Grand Central Station is only 43 minutes.
The worst sports naming rights deal of all time? It would be hard to beat the deal that Syracuse University struck with Carrier Corp. (an air conditioning company), which contributed $2.75M towards the construction of the Carrier Dome and received naming rights in perpetuity.
To add insult to (negotiating) injury, Carrier is now headquartered in Palm Beach County, Florida. And it’s not like it’s going to be easy to buy them out of the deal. Carrier’s annual revenues topped $17 billion in 2020.
What is Syracuse missing out on?
@UofWA gets $4.1 million per season from Alaska Airlines for the name Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium.
University of Illinois receives $2 million annually from State Farm..
Syracuse receives the equivalent of $78,000 per season.
Who’s up for a thread on the IRS Memo regarding daily fantasy sports contests and whether #DFS entry fees should be treated as “wagers” subject to a federal excise tax? Or should I save it for the next episode of @ConDetrimental? Either way, I’ll explain why the IRS got it wrong.
Thread on IRS Memo re: daily fantasy sports
The core issues are two-fold: (1) are DFS entry fees "wagers"? and (2) are DFS contest operators engaged in "the business of accepting wagers" through their acceptance of entry fees to compete in contests? The answer to both questions is "no" (IMO), and I will explain why below.
The XFL's unsecured creditors are objecting to the proposed $15M sale to The Rock because it includes the assignment of all claims belonging to the XFL. There are over $61M in potentially voidable transfers, such as payments made to insiders (including $1.2M to Vince McMahon).
Other potentially voidable transfers include a $5M payment to Raine Advisors LLC during the preference period (90-day period prior to bankruptcy) to satisfy an obligation on which Vince McMahon was jointly liable. If the sale is approved, McMahon would be released from this debt.
"The Committee has identified substantial potential causes of action against insiders, including millions of dollars in payments made within the 1-year insider preference period, and questionable loan transactions within the days and weeks leading up to the bankruptcy."
BREAKING: In new federal court filing, Zion Williamson pushes back against Gina Ford’s claim that he was paid to play at Duke. Calls accusation “baseless” and “irrelevant,” and points to her prior admissions that he was a “student-athlete” until declaring for the NBA Draft.
Zion Williamson has now denied the pay-to-pay allegations, although he was not required to do so at this stage of the case.
“Rather than defend their conduct, Defendants seek to shift the focus with salacious and false rumors from unreliable ‘sources’ outside the pleadings.”
Williamson’s lawyers point out that Ford relies on “Wikipedia articles, Zillow estimates, and hearsay ruled inadmissible by other federal judges” and embraces “rank speculation” that Duke intentionally violated NCAA rules. Calls such allegations “baseless” and “irrelevant.”