The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with NFL owners in their decision to allow the lockout to remain in place. Given there earlier decision this was not unexpected. This decsion also makes the Brady lawsuit a labor issue rather than an anti-trust lawsuit.
Since it was expected this decision is not expected to have any significance on current negotiations between the parties. The court did rule, however, on the legitimacy of the NFLPA's disbanding 6 monts after the expiration of the 2006 CBA which would take place on September 3rd. At that time an anti-trust suit might be pursued since this may no longer be adjudged a labor matter and that case would again be heard by Judge Nelson who sided against the owners regarding the lockout.
Also yet to be decided by Judge David Doty is whether or not the players are owed significant damages as a result of the fund which the owners negotiated from the tv networks for broadcast revenue which is to be paid now regardless of whether there is an NFL season or not. Doty's past decisions have typically not been favorable to the owners.
As the court indicated there appears to be something for everyone in this decision and while it permits the owners to continue their lockout for now it also permits the players the opening to further pursue an anti-trust lawsuit after September 3rd. So it appears that the owners continue to retain some short term leverage but in the long run the threat of a court decision regarding other matters can't be very comforting to them right now.
NFL lockout to remain in place after court decision
With training camps and exhibition games on the horizon, the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals sides with the NFL in overturning a decision to lift the lockout.
By Sam Farmer 7:05 p.m. CDT, July 8, 2011
In a decision that is significant but not surprising, the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling in favor of the NFL on Friday, five weeks after hearing oral arguments on whether the league could lock out its players.
The lockout will remain in place, something the appellate court strongly indicated in its preliminary opinion in May.
The 34-page decision comes as, by all accounts, the NFL and players are making substantial progress toward a new labor deal, a critical juncture considering training camps and exhibition games are less than a month away.
"Obviously this appears to be a great victory for the owners," said Stanford law professor William B. Gould, former chairman of the National Labor Relations Board. "But both sides had to be bargaining in anticipation of this kind of ruling."
The three-judge panel voted 2-1 in favor of overturning the April 25 decision of U.S. District Judge Susan Nelson, who ruled the lockout should be lifted. The appeals said Nelson ignored federal law in reaching her decision.
"Whatever the effects of the union's disclaimer on the League's immunity from antitrust liability, the labor dispute did not suddenly disappear just because the Players elected to pursue the dispute through antitrust litigation rather than collective bargaining," the decision stated.
The 8th Circuit ruled that the Norris-LaGuardia Act prevents courts from blocking lockouts, as opposed to simply strikes, and therefore can be a tool for both employees and employers.
In essence, that means the 8th Circuit views the lawsuit brought by the players — the so-called Tom Brady suit — as a labor issue and not an antitrust case.
Meanwhile, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith, head of the decertified players union, met at a law firm in Manhattan for a second consecutive day of negotiations that have gone on with some regularity in recent weeks.
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By Sam Farmer 7:05 p.m. CDT, July 8, 2011
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