Parrish et al v. National Football League Players Incorporated

Filing 86

MOTION to Dismiss Second Amended Complaint filed by National Football League Players Incorporated, National Football League Players Association. Motion Hearing set for 8/16/2007 08:00 AM in Courtroom 9, 19th Floor, San Francisco. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order Granting NFLPA's Motion to Dismiss)(Goldstein, Claire) (Filed on 7/6/2007)

Parrish et al v. National Football League Players Incorporated

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Doc. 86

Case 3:07-cv-00943-WHA

Document 86

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Mark Malin (Bar No. 199757) mmalin(gjdeweyballantine. com 2 DEWEY BALLANTINE LLP 1950 University Avenue, Suite 500 East Palo Alto, CA 94303
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]
Jeffrey L. Kessler

(pro hac vice)

j kess ler(gjdeweyballantine. com

(pro hac vice) dfeher(gjdeweyballantine. com Eamon O' Kelly (pro hac vice) eokelly(gjdeweyballantine. com DEWEY BALLANTINE LLP 1301 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10019
David G. Feher

Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]

(pro hac 10 kenneth. steinthal(gjweil. com vice)
Kenneth L. Steinthal

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Claire E. Goldstein (Bar No. 237979) claire. goldstein(gjweil. com WElL , GOTSHAL & MANGES LLP 201 Redwood Shores Parkway Redwood Shores, CA 94065
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]
Bruce S. Meyer

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(pro hac vice) bruce. meyer(gjweil. com

WElL , GOTSHAL & MANGES LLP 767 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10153
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]

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Attorneys for Defendant 18 National Football League Players Association

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION
BERNARD PAUL PARRISH, HERBERT 22 ANTHONY ADDERLEY , WALTER ROBERTS III
Plaintiffs

Case No. C 07 0943 WHA

25 NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
26 PLAYERS ASSOCIA nON and NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYERS 27 INCORPORATED dlb/a/ PLAYERS INC
Defendants.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYERS ASSOCIATION' NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION TO DISMISS PLAINTIFFS' SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 12(B)(6)
Date: August 16, 2007 Time: 8:00 am
Ctrm: 9 Judge: William H. Alsup

NFLP A' s Motion to Dismiss the Second Amended Complaint

Civ. Action No. C07 0943 WHA

Dockets.Justia.com

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TO PLAINTIFFS AND THEIR ATTORNEYS OF RECORD:
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on August 16 , 2007 at 8 a.
, or as soon thereafter

as this matter may be heard, in Courtroom 9 of the above-entitled Court , located at 450 Golden
Gate Avenue, San Francisco, California, Defendant National Football League Players

Association (the "NFLP A") will and hereby does move, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), to
dismiss all claims against the NFLP A alleged by Plaintiffs Bernard Paul Parrish ("Parrish"

Herbert Anthony Adderley ("Adderley

), and Walter Roberts

III

Roberts ) (collectively

Plaintiffs ) in their Second Amended Complaint (the " Second Amended Complaint" or

SAC"
First , Plaintiffs ' unfair competition claims against the NFLP A under California
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Business and Professions Code 9 17200 are based on allegations that the NFLP A monopolizes

NFL player group licensing rights by virtue of its position as the union for all active NFL players

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and the terms ofthe collective bargaining agreement (" CBA" ) between the National Football
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League and the NFLPA. All such state law claims directed at the NFLPA' s collective bargaining

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status and CBA rights are preempted under the federal labor laws. Plaintiffs also fail to allege
facts to satisfy any of the legal requirements for claiming an " unlawful" or "fraudulent" business

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practice in violation of Section 17200, or even for asserting California subject matter jurisdiction
under that statute.
Second , as to Plaintiffs ' breach of contract claims , the Second Amended

Complaint does not identify the terms of any particular group licensing agreement (" GLA" ) any

ofthe Plaintiffs was a party to with the NFLP A during the applicable four year statute of
limitations period, or how the NFLP A allegedly breached those terms. To the contrary, the only

GLAs specifically identified in the Second Amended Complaint are either from 1998 clearly time barred or from a " Sample
GLA" that Plaintiffs do

and thus

not allege they signed.

Third , all of Plaintiffs' other claims against the NFLP A - i. , unjust enrichment

breach of fiduciary duty, and for an accounting - must be dismissed for the same reasons set
forth in the Motion to Dismiss filed by co-defendant National Football League Players

Incorporated d/b/a Players Inc. All of these arguments are incorporated herein by reference.

NFLP A' s Motion to Dismiss the Second Amended Complaint

Civ. Action No. C07 0943 WHA

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The NFLP A' s Motion to Dismiss is based upon this Notice of Motion , and the

accompanying Memorandum of Points and Authorities.
Date: July 6 ,

2007

DEWEY BALLANTINE LLP

By:

/S/ Jeffrey L. Kessler

Jeffrey L. Kessler
Attorneys for Defendant National Football League Players Association

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NFLPA' s Motion to Dismiss the Second Amended Complaint

Civ. Action No. C07 0943 WHA

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._____----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------______

Case 3:07-cv-00943-WHA

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T ABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES -------------------------------------------------------------------______m_--____-----------------______m_

3 MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITlES _---_m--mmoo__-------mm_--_-----------m_m--m--m
STATEMENT OF FACTS ----------------------------------------------------------_--_--_00_--------_000000_--------------------00----___

5 ARGUMENT__--___------_--____oo___oo__----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------______
PLAINTIFFS' UNFAIR BUSINESS PRACTICES CLAIMS AGAINST THE NFLP A FOR ALLEGEDLY ABUSING PLAYER RIGHTS "UNDER THE CBA" ARE PREEMPTED BY FEDERAL LABOR LA W _------oom----m_---oomoommm--mm-II.

PLAINTIFFS' SECTION 17200 CLAIMS AGAINST THE NFLPA ALSO FAIL FOR NUMEROUS OTHER REASONS m------__mmw-----m_m--m--___---------mmmm--m_
PLAINTIFFS' BREACH OF CONTRACT CLAIMS AGAINST THE NFLP MUST ALSO BE DISMISSED FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM.---------___mm--mm
ALL OF PLAINTIFFS' OTHER CLAIMS AGAINST THE NFLP A MUST
ALSO BE DISMISSED ----------------______00______----------------------- '---------------------------------00--------_____--

III.

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IV.

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NFLP A' s Motion to Dismiss the Second Amended Complaint

Civ. Action No. C07 0943 WHA

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Case 3:07-cv-00943-WHA Document 86 Filed 07/06/2007 Page 5 of 19

T ABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Page

Cases

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ilera v. Pirelli Armstron Tire Co
223 F. 3d
1010 (9th Cir. 2000)000_00000000000000000_----------_000000000000_000000----------------00000000000000_000_000_

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Am. Fed' n of Musicians v. Carroll
391 U. S. 99. (1968)"000000_0000--00--_000000_00000000_0000000000_00_000000__00000000_0000_00__00_00_0000000000000000_00_00__00___--..

Bell Atlantic Co . v. Twombl
127 S. Ct. 1955 (2007) 00--0000-------------------00000-_00000000000---_---00_------------000---_-00000000000000---_00___--- 9 , 11

Black v. Nat' l Football Lea e Pla ers Ass 87 F. Supp. 2d 1 (D. C. 2000)..------_---00000000000000000000000000000_00_---------------_00000000000000000000----_00_--00.

10 Bo e v
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Cir. 1974 L---------------n------_oo---_oooooooooooo_--------__------_---n---ooo_oooooooooooooooooo

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Careau & Co. v. Sec. Pac. Bus. Credi Inc. 222 Cal. App. 3d 1371 (1990)00000000000---000_---------------00_---___00000000000000000_000_------------__---00000000 8 , 10
Cate illar Inc. v. Williams
482 U. S. 386 (1987)..--_00--- _000000_00-_0000--0000_00_00 00--_00--000000_000000000000--00__0000_00000000_00--_000000000000__00- 5 , 6

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Connell Constr. Co. v. Plumbers & Steamfitters Local Union No. 100
421 u.S. 616 (1975L-------noo_00_ooooooooooooooooo_---------------------nooo__ooo_000_000_000000n__--------------nooo_00000_.

16 Constr. Protective Servs.

Inc. v. TlG S ecialt Ins. Co.

29 Cal. 4th 189 (2002Looooooooooooooooooooo_----------------_ :n___0000000000000000000-------------------------_00000000000--00.

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18 21 24 25 27 28

Elec. Workers v. Hechler
481 U. S. 851 (1987)000000__00_000000000000__0000000000000000000000--_00_00000000000000-- 0000_- _000000_00_00000000__00_000000_00_00.

19 Falstaff ~~e
Fole v. Bates

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No. C 07-0402

PJH, 2007 WL 1430096 (N.D. Cal. May 14, 2007).._00000000000000_000---------00 .1 1
e Pla ers Ass
Fla. 2000) '00000000000000000--------------_00000000000000000000000_00_------00--------00---.

22 Gridiron. com v. Nat'l Football Lea
106 F. Supp. 2d 1309 (S.

A. Artists & Assocs. v. Actors ' E uit Ass
451 U. S. 704 (1981 )00000000_0000_00000000 __0000000000-- 00-- - 00--00_000000_00----00-- - _0000 --00_00____---_00000000000000_000000-- 00

Harris v. Rudin Richman & A 74 Cal. App. 4th 299 (1999)000_000000--_----_------_------------00__---0000000000000_00_---------------_00000000_000000 8 , 10
939 F. Supp. 517 (N.D.
932 F. 2d
Tex. 1996L------oon_---_00000oooooooo_00------- "----------00_000000000000---------------------

Holmes v. Nat'l Football Lea
McKeever v. Block
795 (9th Cir. 1991 L-oooooo_ooooooooo-------------__---n---nooo__ooooooooooo---------------_---_noooooo_ooooo

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NFLP A' s Motion to Dismiss the Second Amended Complaint

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