LOS ANGELES — A federal judge overturned a jury’s $4.7 billion verdict in the class-action lawsuit filed by “Sunday Ticket” subscribers against the NFL and has granted judgment to the NFL. #SundayTicketLawsuit
U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez ruled that the testimony of two witnesses for the subscribers had flawed methodologies. He excluded these testimonies from consideration.
“Without the testimonies of Dr. (Daniel) Rascher and Dr. (John) Zona, no reasonable jury could have found class-wide injury or damages,” Gutierrez wrote at the end of his 16-page ruling.
On June 27, the jury awarded $4.7 billion in damages to subscribers. This followed a ruling that the NFL violated antitrust laws with its premium subscription service.
The lawsuit covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States who paid for the package on DirecTV of out-of-market games from the 2011 through 2022 seasons.
“We are grateful for today’s ruling in the Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit,” the NFL said in a statement. The NFL believes its media distribution model offers fans various ways to follow the game, including local broadcasts on free TV. We thank Judge Gutierrez for his attention and look forward to an exciting 2024 NFL season.
Calls and emails to the attorneys representing “Sunday Ticket” subscribers were not returned.
The jury found the NFL liable for $4,610,331,671.74 in damages to residential subscribers. Additionally, they awarded $96,928,272.90 to commercial subscribers. #SundayTicketLawsuit
Because damages can be tripled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could have been liable for $14,121,779,833.92.
Attorneys representing “Sunday Ticket” subscribers did not return calls or emails.
Furthermore, the judge found that key testimonies had flawed methodologies. Consequently, he excluded these testimonies from consideration.
