K&C Sports & Entertainment Law Weekly Roundup - December 2024 #2

Sports:

SPORTS BETTING

• A New Jersey father lost nearly $1 million he stole from his wife and two kids due to a gambling addiction, which his family claims was deliberately encouraged by the online sportsbook, DraftKings. The civil lawsuit, filed recently by Lisa D’Alessandro, alleges that her husband used the family’s finances to fuel his addiction, leading to the depletion of their savings and credit cards, as well as funds belonging to their children. DraftKings Sued After Father Gambles Away $1 Million – Lawyer Monthly
• Atlanta-based sports betting platform PrizePicks has been hit with a second lawsuit in as many years from business-to-business sports tech company Vetnos, claiming Wednesday that PrizePicks ripped off its concept of daily fantasy betting games with the help of a former Vetnos employee. PrizePicks Faces Second Claim Of Fantasy Platform Ripoff – Law360

NFL

• The Jacksonville Jaguars have asked a Massachusetts judge to let the team subpoena records from a DraftKings employee who handled the account of a former team executive who embezzled $22 million to support a gambling habit. Jaguars Seek DraftKings Records In Suit Against Embezzler – Law360

GOLF

• The LPGA and U.S. Golf Association have announced changes to their transgender policies, effective for the 2025 season. The policies, which were announced in tandem on Wednesday, prohibit athletes who have experienced male puberty from competing in women’s events. LPGA, USGA announce changes in gender policies that ban Hailey Davidson – Golfweek

NBA

• The Dallas Mavericks guard was sued in New York state court by a health and wellness company called Elite Mind Solutions, run by a person named Natasha McCartney, for allegedly declining to pay a $390,710 bill from a family retreat this summer. Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving sued after allegedly stiffing therapist on $390K bill for 150-person family retreat, where someone died – msn

Entertainment:

MUSIC

• Sony Music Entertainment and other record labels underpaid royalties to songwriters and uploaded songs to streaming services without the copyrights to the musical compositions, Ultra International Music Publishing LLC said in a federal lawsuit. Sony Music sued by Patrick Moxey’s Ultra Music Publishing for alleged copyright infringement; publisher claims the major is committing ‘piracy’ of its IP – Music Business Worldwide
• Record label TufAmerica Inc. contested ownership of some of funk musician George Clinton’s work decades too late, the 2^nd Circuit said as it solidified Bridgeport Music Inc.’s win. george-clinton-composition-copyright-suit-unripe.pdf
• A producer of the 1977 Fleetwood Mac album Rumours and the author of the play Stereophonic have resolved claims that the Broadway show infringed copyrighted material from a memoir about making the record, according to a filing in NY federal court. ‘Stereophonic’ Settles Lawsuit With Fleetwood Mac Producer

FILM & TELEVISION

• Mattel was hit with a proposed class action in CA federal court by a mother who alleged she bought the toy giant’s line of Wicked dolls based on the film for her young daughter, only to find out afterward the packaging featured a hyperlink leading to a pornographic website. ‘Wicked’ Lawsuit: Mattel Hit With Class Action Over Porn Link On Movie Merchandise
• Facing millions of dollars in punitive damage liabilities, Netflix and its army of lawyers were able to keep an IN federal jury’s verdict at $385,000 in a privacy lawsuit over the names of the biological children of a rogue fertility doctor that appeared in the Our Father Netflix to Pay $385,000 for Outing ‘Secret Child’ in Documentary
• A 9^th Circuit panel appeared dubious of a playwright’s bid to revive claims that Starz Entertainment copied her stage musical for the strip club drama series P-Valley, with one of the appellate judges noting that the works “could not be more different.” 9th Circ. Skeptical Starz Ripped Off Play For Strip Club Drama – Law360

LAWSUITS OF THE RICH & FAMOUS

• Jay-Z was accused in a lawsuit of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000 along with Sean “Diddy” Combs. Jay-Z accused in a civil lawsuit of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000 along with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
• Academy Award-winning actor Timothy Hutton has settled a $3 million dispute over his ouster from the Amazon crime drama reboot Leverage: Redemption amid sexual assault allegations, two months before he and the show’s production company had been set to square off at trial in CA state court. Timothy Hutton, ‘Leverage: Redemption’ Producer Settle Contract Claims
• Sean “Diddy” Combs urged a Manhattan federal judge to hold a special hearing and consider dismissing his sex-trafficking indictment after staff at the Metropolitan Detention Center photographed his allegedly privileged, handwritten notes during a sweep of the prison and sent them to prosecutors, who he says used the information to argue against bail. Diddy’s Lawyers Say Government Has Spied on Him in His Jail Cell A NY federal judge dismissed two of the rapper’s companies from a lawsuit accusing the hip-hop mogul and two other men of trafficking and raping a 17-year-old in 2003, saying a 2022 amendment to a local law expanding liability for gender-motivated violence didn’t apply retroactively. Diddy’s Companies Tossed From One Of His Rape Suits – Law360
• A CA federal court threw out several claims in a lawsuit launched against Lizzo and her touring company by a fashion designer who created custom pieces for the singer on tour, finding the Fair Labor Standards Act doesn’t apply to work performed in Europe. Lizzo Designer’s Harassment, Unpaid OT Claims Clipped – Law360
• A CA judge set a March trial date for a civil lawsuit brought by a woman whom Harvey Weinstein was convicted of raping, saying the disgraced movie producer’s age and poor medical condition outweigh the plaintiff’s desire to pause proceedings until a criminal appeal concludes. Harvey Weinstein Gets March Trial Date In LA Civil Rape Suit – Law360