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Judge overturns $4.7 billion verdict in “Sunday Ticket” case against NFL
A federal judge has 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.
U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez ruled Thursday that the testimony of two witnesses for the subscribers had flawed methodologies and should have been excluded.
“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.
The jury on June 27 awarded $4.7 billion in damages to residential and commercial subscribers after it ruled the NFL violated antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a 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 provided to CBS News. “We believe that the NFL’s media distribution model provides our fans with an array of options to follow the game they love, including local broadcasts of every single game on free over-the-air television. We thank Judge Gutierrez for his time and attention to this case and look forward to an exciting 2024 NFL season.”
John Smolek/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The jury of five men and three women found the NFL liable for $4,610,331,671.74 in damages to the residential class, home subscribers, and $96,928,272.90 in damages to the commercial class, business subscribers.
Since damages can be tripled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could have been liable for $14,121,779,833.92.
It is not the first time the NFL has won a judgment as matter of law in this case, which has been going on since 2015.
In 2017, U.S. District Judge Beverly Reid O’Connell dismissed the lawsuit and ruled for the NFL because she said “Sunday Ticket” did not reduce output of NFL games and that even though DirecTV might have charged inflated prices, that did not “on its own, constitute harm to competition” because it had to negotiate with the NFL to carry the package.
Two years later, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the case.
It is likely the plaintiffs will again appeal to the 9th Circuit.
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In Hollywood, a land known for marquees and famous signs, there’s probably no sign that’s more on the nose than the store Just Food For Dogs. There, four-legged customers sample today’s offerings, while their owners stock up on the food.
Sarah Rector and her French bulldog, Lulu, are buying her regular order, including beef with russet potato, and venison with squash. Rector says she feels better buying the store’s food for Lulu rather than commercial dog food: “I just know that she’s getting the best possible, like, ingredients and health and overall wellness.”
She and her husband don’t have children, yet, but they have another French bulldog, “so I feel like we have kids.”
It’s tempting to write this off as a trendy L.A. fad, but Just Food For Dogs president Carey Tischler says this store is here because of a permanent shift in the roughly $50 billion U.S. pet food industry. “The last year of research shows that 82% of families think of pets as family, or as children, and that’s up significantly,” he said.
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Joe Ovalle is Just Food’s guest experience manager. He says all of their pet food is approved by the USDA for human consumption. “It is human-grade food, something you and I could eat,” he said.
He sampled one of their recipes, for fish and sweet potato. “Oh my God, it’s like ceviche,” he smiled.
It may seem a bit indulgent, and can cost double the price of Kibbles, but some say that feeding our dogs natural food is what we should have been doing all along – and making it yourself can cost the same as buying food from the store.
“It’s about going back to what is biologically appropriate, that they ate for tens of thousands of years,” said pet nutritionist Christine Filardi. “They ate prey animals and table scraps. So, I’m just educating people on how to go back to what they ate for tens of thousands of years prior to commercial pet food.”
Stewart, Tabori & Chang
Filardi is author of “Home Cooking For Your Dog,” a cookbook offering recipes with what she says are the three necessities: animal protein, a carb, and a veggie, as well as a few extravagant treats, like her bacon and cream cheese muffins.
Filardi says whether it’s store-bought or home-cooked fresh food, the results are the same: well-fed animals live longer, have cheaper vet bills, and are happier … which makes the owners happy, too.
“They take such good care of us,” she said. “We should take good care of them.”
RECIPE (FOR DOGS): Hearty Hamburgers
RECIPE (FOR DOGS): Friday Playdate Pizza
RECIPE (FOR DOGS): Bacon and Cream Cheese Muffins
RECIPE (FOR DOGS): Ground Turkey, Quinoa, and Carrots
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Story produced by John Goodwin. Editor: Joseph Frandino.
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