Gold Medal LLC v. USA Track & Field

187 F. Supp. 3d 1219, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62703, 2016 WL 2757976
CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedMay 11, 2016
DocketCiv. No. 6:16-cv-00092-MC
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 187 F. Supp. 3d 1219 (Gold Medal LLC v. USA Track & Field) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gold Medal LLC v. USA Track & Field, 187 F. Supp. 3d 1219, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62703, 2016 WL 2757976 (D. Or. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

McSHANE, Judge:

Plaintiff Gold Medal LLC, doing business as Run Gum (“Run Gum”), brings this antitrust action against Defendants USA Track & Field (“USATF”) and the United States Olympic Committee (“USOC”). Plaintiff alleges that the Defendants’ policy forbidding athletes from competing at the [1222]*12222016 Olympic Trials in apparel bearing individual' sponsorship is an illegal restraint on trade under section 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1. Defendants move to dismiss Run Gum’s complaint for failure to state a claim under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). Defendants argue four distinct theories supporting dismissal: (1) that Run Gum failed to allege a plausible agreement in restraint of trade under the Sherman Act; (2) that Run Gum has not adequately pled a plausible relevant market; (3) that Run Gum’s allegations do not support a perse violation of the antitrust laws; and (4) that the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act (the “ASA” or the “Act”) provides Defendants with implied antitrust immunity.

Because congress charged Defendants with financing the United States’ participation in the Olympics, in part by preserving the value of the Olympic brand, Run Gum’s challenge fails under an implied grant of immunity. USATF and USOC may exercise control over the apparel worn by competitors on the field of competition at the Olympic Trials, particularly as it relates to individual advertisements and sponsorships that would undercut USOC’s fundraising mission. For this reason, US-ATF’s motion, ECF No. 43, and USOC’s motion, ECF No. 41, are GRANTED and Run Gum’s complaint is DISMISSED.

BACKGROUND

Run Gum manufactures and sells chewing gum that contains caffeine, taurine, and b vitamins. Compl. ¶ 15, ECF No. 1. Run Gurn markets its product to athletes, particularly runners, as a performance-optimizing alternative to coffee and energy drinks. Comp. ¶ 15. As part of its marketing scheme, Run Gum sponsors a team of professional runners who promote its product by wearing Run Gum branded apparel in competition. Compl. ¶ 16. Run Gum seeks to have its sponsored athletes compete in branded apparel at the 2016 Olympic Trials, compl. ¶ 16, which will be held July 1-10, 2016, in Eugene, Oregon, compl. ¶ 8.

USOC is a federally chartered corporation with exclusive jurisdiction over the United States’ participation in the Olympic Games. 36 U.S.C. § 220503(3). As part of that authority, USOC is charged with organizing, financing, and controlling the representation of the United States in the Olympics. 36 U..S.C. 220505(c)(3). USOC may delegate that authority to various national governing bodies (NGBs) such as USATF, the NGB for track and field. Id.] compl. ¶ 4. Through such a delegation, US-ATF hosts and organizes the Olympic Trials every four years, an event which determines the membership of the U.S. Olympic Team. See compl. ¶4. Although USATF hosts and organizes the Trials, USOC governs, supervises, and funds USATF, and also approves USATF’s procedures for selecting members of the United States Olympic Team (“Olympic Team” or “Team USA”). Compl. ¶¶ 4, 25.

As required by the USOC, athletes are restricted in the kinds of advertising and logos they can display on their apparel while competing in the Olympic Trials.1 Compl. ¶ 35. These restrictions are set out in a four-page document entitled “2016 Olympic Trials Uniform Advertising and Logo Regulations” (“the Regulations”), located on the USATF website. Compl. ¶ 33; see also compl., ECF No. 1-1. In these Regulations, USOC2 forbids athletes from [1223]*1223wearing “any commercial identification or promotional material” while competing at the Trials, with two exceptions. Compl. ¶ 35. First, athletes may wear apparel that features the name or logo of the apparel’s manufacturer, subject to specific size and quantity restrictions. Compl. ¶¶ 10, 35. For example, an athlete wearing a competition top made by Nike may display Nike’s name and logo on the front of the,top. See compl. ¶¶ 10-11, 35. Second, athletes may wear uniforms bearing the name of a track club that is registeréd with USATF and approved by the USOC, again subject to size restrictions. Compl. ¶ 35; compl., ECF No. 1-1. Run Gum alleges that these exceptions demonstrate the existence of a horizontal and vertical agreement between USOC, USATF, and unnamed corconspira-tors3 to restrain trade. Compl. ¶¶ 26-27, 38. ,

Athletes who violate the advertising and logo rules may be disqualified from the Olympic Trials. Compl. ¶35. The Regulations note that athlete uniforms will be inspected for compliance during packet pick up and also during the final clerking process before competition. Compl, ¶¶9, 38; compl., ECF No. 1-1. The Regulations direct any questions to a USATF email address and grant.USATF the discretion to determine whether a manufacturer’s logo dominates or unduly distracts from a piece of apparel. Compl., ECF No. 1-1.

Run Gum alleges that USATF’s and USOC’s agreement, to restrict individual sponsorships at the Olympic Trials is longstanding. Compl. ¶39. For instance, in March 2012, the USOC’s Director of NGB Marketing Programs and Business Development asked USATF’s interim CEO “to ■send an important reminder to athletes, agents, coaches and staff regarding apparel and equipment identification” during the 2012 Olympic Trials. Compl. ¶ 39. Run Gum alleges that USATF-issued guidelines from the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Trials- confirm the agreement to ban nearly all commercial advertising on competition'apparel. Compl. ¶-38.

Although USOC and USATF broadly restrict companies from advertising on athletes’ apparel during the Trials, they provide alternative marketing forums for would-be advertisers. Compl. ¶ 7. The products of “official sponsors,” for example, are featured in conjunction’with the competition in exchange for a fee. These sponsors are not limited to a particular kind of business or industry, but range from an automobile manufacturer to a credit card company to an online university, amongst others. Compl. ¶6. USATF also offers “a wide range of sponsors for itself’ at the Trials which, while distinct from individual athlete sponsorships, provide marketing opportunities to companies like Run Gum. Compl. ¶7. Additionally, USATF independently hosts numerous other track and field competitions, such as the Indoor Championship Series and Outdoor Championship Series. Compl. ¶ 44. At these events, which do not involve USOC or the accompanying “Olympic” designation, athletes may wear apparel bearing individual sponsorships. Compl. ¶¶ 43-45.

STANDARDS

To survive a motion to dismiss under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter that [1224]*1224“state[s] a claim, to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). A claim is plausible on its face when the factual allegations allow the court to infer the defendant’s liability based on the alleged conduct.

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Related

Gold Medal LLC v. USA Track & Field
899 F.3d 712 (Ninth Circuit, 2018)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
187 F. Supp. 3d 1219, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62703, 2016 WL 2757976, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gold-medal-llc-v-usa-track-field-ord-2016.