K&C Sports & Entertainment Law Weekly Roundup - January 2025

Sports:

• A North Carolina federal judge won’t pause his order blocking NASCAR from enforcing its antitrust release in racing contracts — including one for a team owned by former NBA star Michael Jordan — for the 2025 season, saying Monday that he did not grant the injunction lightly. NASCAR Can’t Pause Jordan Team’s Win In Antitrust Case – Law360
• The NCAA will reportedly discuss the idea of allowing student-athletes in all sports a fifth year of eligibility in the near future. NCAA to discuss 5th year of eligibility for all sports in 2025 – SI
• A union on Tuesday moved to withdraw its novel bid to represent the Dartmouth College men’s basketball team, a move likely calculated to avoid unfavorable rulings by President-elect Donald Trump‘s appointees to the National Labor Relations Board. Dartmouth basketball union bid withdrawn ahead of Trump’s second term – Reuters

Entertainment:

FILM & TELEVISION

• Disney again escaped plaintiff’s claims that the Avengers movies infringed facial capture software, but a federal judge will, for the second time, allow the plaintiff one last chance to fix the complaint. Disney Escapes Avengers Face-Tech Software Suit For Now, Again
• Disney and Fubo announced a deal to combine the streaming startup with Disney’s Hulu + Live TV business, in an agreement that ends Fubo’s lawsuit that had so far successfully challenged a three-way live sports streaming joint venture between Disney’s ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery. Disney Hulu+ Live TV and Fubo to combine
• Netflix has asked an NJ federal court to toss a trial lawyer’s copyright infringement claims over their competing documentaries on sexual abuse within the Boy Scouts of America, arguing that any claimed similarities “are based on uncopyrightable facts that are free for all creators to use.” Netflix Says ‘Uncopyrightable Facts’ Sink Boy Scout Doc Suit – Law360

LAWSUITS OF THE RICH & FAMOUS

• Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have reached a divorce settlement, ending one of the longest and most contentious divorces in Hollywood history, but not every legal issue between them. Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt agree on divorce settlement after 8 years of intense legal battles – CBS News
• Justin Baldoni is firing back after being accused of sexual harassment by his co-star Blake Lively, filing a libel suit against The New York Times, claiming that the newspaper published an article “rife with inaccuracies, misrepresentations, and omissions” that relied on Lively’s “self-serving narrative.” Justin Baldoni sues New York Times for $250 million over Blake Lively story | CNN