Parrish et al v. National Football League Players Incorporated

Filing 123

Proposed Order Regarding Plaintiffs' Discovery Motion by Bernard Paul Parrish, Walter Roberts, III, Herbert Anthony Adderley. (Katz, Ronald) (Filed on 8/29/2007)

Parrish et al v. National Football League Players Incorporated

Doc. 123

Case 3:07-cv-00943-WHA

Document 123

Filed 08/29/2007

Page 1 of 4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
MANATT, PHELPS & PHILLIPS, LLP
A T T O R N E Y S A T LAW PALO A L T O

MANATT, PHELPS & PHILLIPS, LLP RONALD S. KATZ (Bar No. CA 085713) E-mail: [e-mail] RYAN S. HILBERT (California Bar No. 210549) E-mail: [e-mail] NOEL S. COHEN (California Bar No. 219645) E-mail: [e-mail] 1001 Page Mill Road, Building 2 Palo Alto, CA 94304-1006 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] MCKOOL SMITH, P.C. LEWIS T. LECLAIR (Bar No. CA 077136) E-mail: [e-mail] JILL C. ADLER (Bar No. CA 150783) E-mail: [e-mail] 300 Crescent Court Dallas, TX 75201 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] Attorneys for Plaintiffs

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION

BERNARD PAUL PARRISH, HERBERT ANTHONY ADDERLEY, and WALTER ROBERTS III, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, vs. NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYERS ASSOCIATION, a Virginia corporation, and NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYERS INCORPORATED d/b/a PLAYERS INC, a Virginia corporation, Defendants.

CIVIL ACTION NO. C07 0943 WHA

ORDER REGARDING PLAINTIFFS' DISCOVERY MOTION

Date: Friday, August 17, 2007 Time: 1:30 pm Judge: Honorable William H. Alsup

ORDER REGARDING PLAINTIFFS' DISCOVERY MOTION CASE NO. C 07-0943 WHA

Dockets.Justia.com

Case 3:07-cv-00943-WHA

Document 123

Filed 08/29/2007

Page 2 of 4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
MANATT, PHELPS & PHILLIPS, LLP
A T T O R N E Y S A T LAW PALO A L T O

On August 10, 2007, Plaintiffs Bernard Paul Parrish, Herbert Anthony Adderley, and Walter Roberts III (collectively, "Plaintiffs") filed a letter brief ("Discovery Motion") in which they requested that the Court order Defendant National Football League Players Incorporated d/b/a PLAYERS INC to produce certain document in response to Plaintiffs' first set of document requests. On August 15, 2007, Defendant filed a letter brief opposing Plaintiffs' Discovery Motion and requesting a protective order limiting discovery. Oral argument on the parties' letter briefs was held on August 17, 2007 in the above-referenced Court. Having considered the parties' letter briefs, and the oral argument on the letter briefs, the Court hereby orders as follows: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that to the extent not already produced, PLAYERS INC will produce to Plaintiffs by no later than August 29, 2007, the following documents: · All agreements from February 14, 2003 entered into between PLAYERS INC or the National Football League Players Association and any licensee that provide for the licensing of any retired NFL players' rights; · All individual "ad hoc" licensing or marketing agreements from February 14, 2003 to which any retired NFL player is a party; · · All GLAs from February 14, 2003 to which any retired NFL player is a party; Documents from February 14, 2003 sufficient to show any and all payments made by licensees to PLAYERS INC with respect to licensing the rights of any retired NFL player; · Documents from February 14, 2003 sufficient to show any and all payments made by PLAYERS INC to any retired NFL player with respect to licensing the rights of any retired NFL player; and · Documents from February 14, 2003 sufficient to show any transactions in which PLAYERS INC retained or retains a portion of the payment made by a licensee (e.g., as an "administrative fee") in connection with the licensing rights of any retired NFL player, including documents sufficient to show the amounts that were retained by PLAYERS INC. 2
ORDER REGARDING PLAINTIFFS' DISCOVERY MOTION CASE NO. C 07-0943 WHA

Case 3:07-cv-00943-WHA

Document 123

Filed 08/29/2007

Page 3 of 4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
MANATT, PHELPS & PHILLIPS, LLP
A T T O R N E Y S A T LAW PALO A L T O

IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED that PLAYERS INC will produce to Plaintiffs by no later than August 29, 2007, the following: With respect to the licensing agreements with The Topps Company ("Topps") and Electronic Arts ("EA"), from February 14, 2003, documents sufficient to show the flow of any funds paid by Topps and EA to PLAYERS INC that were paid to PLAYERS INC specifically in consideration for the licensing of retired NFL players' rights (e.g., pursuant to an individual "ad hoc" agreement). IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED that: PLAINTIFFS' PROPOSAL: With respect to the licensing agreements with Topps and EA from February 14, 2003, PLAYERS INC will produce by no later than September 7, 2007, documents sufficient to trace the flow of those funds from Topps and EA to PLAYERS INC that PLAYERS INC did not earmark (a) specifically for active NFL players, or (b) specifically for retired NFL players; OR PLAYERS INC'S PROPOSAL: With respect to the licensing agreements with Topps and EA, from February 14, 2003, PLAYERS INC will produce by no later than August 29, 2007, documents sufficient to show the flow of any funds paid by Topps and EA to PLAYERS INC that were not paid to PLAYERS INC (a) specifically in consideration for the licensing of active NFL players' rights, or (b) specifically in consideration for the licensing of retired NFL players' rights (e.g., pursuant to an individual "ad hoc" agreement). IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED that PLAYERS INC shall make good faith efforts to locate and produce all documents that are responsive to this Order, including GLAs and "ad hoc" agreements from February 14, 2003 that were signed by active NFL players who subsequently retired before the expiration of such GLAs or "ad hoc" agreements.

3

ORDER REGARDING PLAINTIFFS' DISCOVERY MOTION CASE NO. C 07-0943 WHA

Case 3:07-cv-00943-WHA

Document 123

Filed 08/29/2007

Page 4 of 4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
MANATT, PHELPS & PHILLIPS, LLP
A T T O R N E Y S A T LAW PALO A L T O

IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED that all further relief sought by Plaintiffs in their Discovery Motion is denied without prejudice. IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: ________________, 2007

_______________________________________ Honorable William H. Alsup Judge, United States District Court

Approved as to form: Dated: August 29, 2007 DEWEY BALLANTINE LLP

By: /s/ Eamon O'Kelly Eamon O'Kelly (pro hac vice) DEWEY BALLANTINE LLP 1301 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10019-6092 Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone] Attorneys for Defendants Filer's Attestation: Pursuant to General Order No. 45, Section X(B) regarding signatures, Ronald S. Katz hereby attests that concurrence in the filing of this document has been obtained.

20186961.6

4

ORDER REGARDING PLAINTIFFS' DISCOVERY MOTION CASE NO. C 07-0943 WHA