In a notable victory for the boutique litigation firm Wilkinson Stekloff, a federal judge has thrown out a $4.7 billion jury award against the National Football League (NFL) concerning the pricing of its Sunday Ticket package. This decision underscores Wilkinson Stekloff’s growing influence in high-stakes sports litigation.
Litigator Beth Wilkinson, who spearheaded the NFL’s defense, alongside Rakesh Kilaru and Brian Stekloff, played a crucial role in this achievement. The decision follows another significant triumph for the firm, the steered $2.8 billion antitrust settlement for the NCAA earlier this year (Bloomberg Law).
Jodi Balsam, a professor at Brooklyn Law School and former in-house lawyer for the NFL, commented that the ruling validates the NFL’s distribution and litigation strategies, while raising doubts about the plaintiff’s antitrust claims. This dismissal alleviates potential financial burdens for the NFL as the new season approaches.
Formed a decade ago by Big Law alums, Wilkinson Stekloff has steadily taken on prominent cases. The Sunday Ticket case was initially handled by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, where Wilkinson was a partner. Gregg Levy, a notable figure from Covington & Burling, had represented the NFL during earlier stages of the litigation until the firm’s ties with the league strained (Bloomberg Law). This marked a strategic shift for the league towards Wilkinson Stekloff.
While this ruling is a setback for the plaintiffs led by Bill Carmody of Susman Godfrey, the battle may not be over. Marc Edelman, a sports law and antitrust professor at Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business, anticipates possible appeals that could extend this litigation, emphasizing that a settlement might still be on the horizon (Bloomberg Law).
The case in question is In re National Football League’s Sunday Ticket Antitrust Litigation, held in the US District Court for the Central District of California.