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Media & Entertainment Law

: Sports Law Blog

WEAI Conference - Sports Economics on Trial

By Rick Karcher, Michael McCann, Geoffrey Rapp, Greg Skidmore, and Howard Wasserman

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The 87th Annual WEAI conference takes place June 29 to July 3 in San Francisco. There are 21 sports-related sessions with over 70 individual papers being presented. Two sports law-related panels are also included. The complete program can be found here. I will be moderating a panel entitled "Sports Economics on Trial." The panelists and abstract can be found below.

SportsEconomics on Trial

Ryan Rodenberg (moderator)

FloridaState University

Dennis Coates (panelist)

Universityof Maryland, Baltimore County

John Solow (panelist)

Universityof Iowa

Jeffrey Standen (panelist)

WillametteUniversity College of Law

Jonathan Walker (panelist)

EconomistsInternational

ABSTRACT

The sports industry has firmly embraced the use of economic analysis in various decision-making processes. Such methods have similarly been adopted in the sports law field. Moderator Rodenberg will open with a discussion of Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and an anecdotal story about the expert testimony offered in Kentucky Speedway v. NASCAR, a prominent antitrust case. Individual panelists will then move todiscuss how sports economics is used in the courtroom. First, panelist Coates will explain how expert testimony shaped the Seattle Sonics economic impact lawsuit and provide an overview of the amicus brief filed by economists in support of petitioner in the American Needle v. NFL case when it was before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2010. Second,panelist Standen will discuss the American Needle arguments outlined in an amicus brief filed by economists in support of the respondent. More generally, Standen will posit on expert testimony that has been persuasive in sports litigation and what attorneys look for when retaining economists as expert witnesses. Third, panelist Walker will generally outline how the law and economics movement has impacted antitrust cases affecting the sports industry. More specifically, Walker will discuss his role as an expert in several high-profile sports lawsuits, including the recently-resolved Deutscher Tennis Bundv. ATP World Tour case. Fourth, panelist Solow will discuss Daubert v. Merrill Dow,the seminal U.S. Supreme Court opinion pertaining to the admissibility of expert testimony, with a particular emphasis on antitrust litigation. Each panelist will conclude by opining on how the American Needle v. NFL case will likely be resolved if it goes to trial in 2012 or2013.