Kelsey K. v. NFL Enterprises, LLC

254 F. Supp. 3d 1140, 2017 WL 2311312, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81503
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedMay 25, 2017
DocketNo. C 17-00496 WHA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 254 F. Supp. 3d 1140 (Kelsey K. v. NFL Enterprises, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kelsey K. v. NFL Enterprises, LLC, 254 F. Supp. 3d 1140, 2017 WL 2311312, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81503 (N.D. Cal. 2017).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS AND DENYING REQUEST . FOR DISCOVERY

William Alsup, United States District Judge

INTRODUCTION

In this putative class action for antitrust violations, defendants move to dismiss. The motion is Granted. Plaintiffs request for discovery at the pleading stage is Denied.

STATEMENT

Plaintiff Kelsey K. asserts putative class claims for'violations of the Sherman Act and the Cartwright Act against the National Football League and 27 of its member teams. The gravamen of the complaint is that defendants conspired “to fix and suppress the compensation of’ and “to eliminate competition among them for” cheerleaders. The following facts are taken from the well-pled allegations of the complaint (Dkt. No. 1).

In recent decades, NFL revenue and profits have skyrocketed, and the salaries of male athletes have followed suit (id ¶¶ 60-63). As of 2016, NFL players earned an average of approximately $1.3 million per athlete, practice squad players earned at least $117,300 per season, and mascots earned anywhere from $25,000 to $65,000 per year (plus benefits). In contrast, cheerleaders — who perform during televised games and participate in community outreach and photo shoots — still earn “well below market value” (id ¶¶ 63, 68-71). During the relevant time period, no NFL team ever attempted to recruit a cheerleader from another team, even when located in the same geographic market (id ¶ 77).

Senior executives in the NFL — including team owners, high-ranking management officials, and the heads of cheerlead-ing teams — gather at “various meetings throughout the year.” Such meetings include “annual NFL owner meetings, the NFL scouting combine, the NFL Draft, the Super Bowl, the Pro Bowl, trade shows, and even conference calls among senior executives” (id. ¶ 79). Additionally, the NFL constitution and bylaws require all teams to “file with the NFL all written employment contracts with all non-player employees” (id ¶¶ 81, 83). This filing occurs each year as teams hire new waves of cheerleaders (id. ¶ 86).

The complaint asserts that, through the foregoing means, the NFL and its member teams conspired to suppress earnings for cheerleaders below fair market value by (1) paying them “a low, flat wage for each game” and not paying them for rehearsals or community outreach events; (2) refraining from poaching other teams’ cheerleaders; and (3) prohibiting cheerleaders from seeking employment with other professional cheerleading teams and from discussing their earnings with each other (e.g., id. ¶ 80).

The complaint also alleges that NFL teams conspired to “use fear and intimidation to induce compliance [with] and acceptance of suppressed earnings.” For example, unspecified NFL teams and agents allegedly told unidentified cheerleaders “they were lucky to be chosen, should be grateful and could be quickly replaced if they failed to perform in any way” (id. ¶ 98). The suppression of earnings also had the effect of suppressing cheerleader mobility, since the costs of moving to or even auditioning for a different team in a different geographic region, relative to the expected profits from such a move, would be prohibitively high. The lack of mobility, in [1143]*1143turn, “reinforced the suppression of earnings” for cheerleaders (id. ¶ 99).

The complaint alleges some effects said to flow from the purported conspiracy. At unspecified times in the past, the Raiders paid their cheerleaders a flat fee of $125 per game and did not pay them for rehearsals or “mandatory community events, along with other time that should have been compensated.” The Buccaneers paid their cheerleaders a flat fee of $100 per game, did not pay them for rehearsals, and “rarely paid a low hourly wage for community events.” The Bengals paid their cheerleaders a flat fee of $90 per game and did not pay them for rehearsals or community events. The Bills did not pay their cheerleaders at all for games or rehearsals “and rarely paid them for community events” (id. ¶ 87).

After “a rash of lawsuits filed over the last few years alleging that various NFL teams paid their [cheerleaders] below the legally-mandated minimum wage,” however, NFL teams “generally raised their earnings for [cheerleaders] to minimum wage” (id. ¶¶ 75, 89). The complaint is silent on the current state of cheerleader compensation in the NFL but alleges, on “information and belief,” that the true fair market value for cheerleaders “may have been and may continue to be” approximately $100,000 per cheerleader per year “based on consultations with industry experts” (id. ¶ 92).

Based on the foregoing allegations, plaintiff asserts claims for violations of the Sherman Act and the Cartwright Act. Defendants move to dismiss. This order follows full briefing and oral argument.

ANALYSIS

To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). A claim has facial plausibility when its factual content allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). While all allegations of material fact are taken as true and construed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, conclusory allegations of law and unwarranted inferences are insufficient to defeat a motion to dismiss. Ove v. Gwinn, 264 F.3d 817, 821 (9th Cir. 2001). For example, “formulaic recitation of the elements” of a claim are not entitled to the presumption of truth. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 681, 129 S.Ct. 1937. A plaintiff may, however, plead facts “alleged upon information and belief where the facts are peculiarly within the possession and control of the defendant or where the belief is based on factual information that makes the inference of culpability plausible.” Soo Park v. Thompson, 851 F.3d 910, 928-29 (9th Cir. 2017).

To be clear, the complaint here asserts only claims for violations of antitrust law. This is not a lawsuit for violation of wage- and-hour or labor laws (see, e.g., Dkt. No. 1 ¶ 75). Nor is it a complaint for general maltreatment of cheerleaders. For present purposes, allegations that cheerleaders deserve to be paid more for their skills (see, e.g., id. ¶ 67), or that defendants treated cheerleaders in “insulting” or “demeaning” ways (see, e.g., id. ¶¶ 63, 66, 88), even if true, are inapposite. Plaintiff chose to assert antitrust claims, so she must plead factual allegations sufficient to show violations of antitrust law.

To state an antitrust claim here, plaintiff must plead not only “ultimate facts, such as conspiracy, and legal conclusions” — e.g., that defendants agreed not to compete with each other or entered into an agreement to prevent competition — but also “the necessary evidentiary facts to support [1144]

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
254 F. Supp. 3d 1140, 2017 WL 2311312, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81503, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kelsey-k-v-nfl-enterprises-llc-cand-2017.