Last week, Judge Claudia Wilken referred the pending O’Bannon
lawsuit to Magistrate Judge Nathanael
Cousins for "a settlement conference to be held as soon as it is
convenient."
The mediation is to involve issues raised by a group of
class-action and individual anti-trust plaintiffs led by former UCLA basketball
player Ed O'Bannon, as well as those raised by former Arizona State and
Nebraska football player Sam Keller.
The Keller case is a presumptive class action relating to
the use of college athletes' names and likenesses in video games.
In the O'Bannon case, the plaintiffs, on a class-action
basis, are seeking an injunction that would bar the NCAA from limiting what
Division I men's basketball players and football players can
get for participating in their respective sports. Individual named plaintiffs
also are seeking a jury verdict — and damages — relating to the alleged misuse
of their names and likenesses in the past.
The O'Bannon plaintiffs and the NCAA had each asked
Wilken to decide the case in their favor without a trial. As covered in my blog
previously, Wilken said she would not grant a full summary judgment to either
side, and she set a June 9th trial date. However, she has not yet made a formal
ruling on the summary judgment requests, or a series of other pending matters.
She did state that at least some of the issues will go to trial.
Jon Solomon, who writes for The Birmingham News/al.com, has written another excellent piece on
the story. He has covered the lawsuit for the last few years and I have put
links to his articles on my blog many times. For more on his take, click on the
link below:
