White v. National Football League

41 F.3d 402, 1994 WL 680414
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedDecember 6, 1994
DocketNos. 93-3375, 93-3381, 93-3382, 93-3403, 93-3415
StatusPublished
Cited by38 cases

This text of 41 F.3d 402 (White v. National Football League) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
White v. National Football League, 41 F.3d 402, 1994 WL 680414 (8th Cir. 1994).

Opinion

MORRIS SHEPPARD ARNOLD, Circuit Judge.

Twenty-six football players (“objectors”) appeal the settlement of an antitrust action brought by a certified class of football players against the National Football League. The district court1 initially certified the class in an order issued on April 30, 1993, White v. NFL, 822 F.Supp. 1389 (D.Minn.1993), and approved the settlement in an order and a judgment decree issued on August 20, 1993, White v. NFL, 836 F.Supp. 1458 (D.Minn. 1993); White v. NFL, 836 F.Supp. 1508 (D.Minn.1993). The objectors now challenge the district court’s certification of a mandatory class represented by the named plaintiffs, the district court’s approval of the settlement agreement, and the district court’s jurisdiction to enjoin related actions. We affirm.

I.

The settlement agreement purports to end a six-year dispute between the NFL member teams and their player-employees. The central issue in this labor dispute was the conflict between the players’ desire for complete free agency and the NFL’s desire to maintain competitive balance among its teams. A 1987 player strike failed to produce a compromise, and various antitrust actions followed. See, e.g., Powell v. NFL, 711 F.Supp. 959 (D.Minn.1989), 930 F.2d 1293 (8th Cir. 1989), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 1040, 111 S.Ct. 711, 112 L.Ed.2d 700 (1991) (holding that nonstatutory labor exemption precluded antitrust challenge); Powell/McNeil v. NFL, 764 F.Supp. 1351 (D.Minn.1991) (recognizing National Football League Players Association’s disclaimer of its status as exclusive collective bargaining representative, thus ending the nonstatutory labor exemption); and McNeil v. NFL, 1992 WL 315292 (D.Minn.1992) (special verdict finding that employment rules harmed competition for players’ services and were more restrictive than necessary to achieve competitive balance among teams). Shortly after the special verdict in McNeil, id., a group of players filed White v. NFL, the class action which resulted in the challenged settlement.

In early 1993, the parties to White v. NFL agreed to settle that case as well as other litigation related to the ongoing employment dispute. The District Court assisted in the settlement process by conditionally certifying a non-opt-out class pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(1). White v. NFL, Civ. No. 4-92-906 (D.Minn.1993); White v. NFL, Civ. No. 4-92-906 (D.Minn.1993). The class consisted of

(i) all players who have been, are now, or will be under contract to play professional football for an NFL club at any time from August 31, 1987, to the date of final approval of the settlement of this action and the determination of any appeal therefrom, and (ii) all college and other football players who, as of August 31,1987, through the date of final approval of the settlement of this action and the determination of any appeals therefrom, have been, are now, or will be eligible to play football as a rookie for an NFL team. Id.

The parties then entered into a settlement agreement, which received preliminary ap[407]*407proval from the district court. White v. NFL, Civ. No. 4-92-906 (D.Minn.1993). In accordance with the district court's instructions, the White plaintiffs notified class members of the proposed settlement by mail and by publication of a summary in a national newspaper. Several weeks later the district court convened a hearing to provide those who objected to the proposed settlement "with an opportunity to present their views. The district court then issued a lengthy order overruling these objections and enjoining individual lawsuits by class members with similar claims. White v. NFL, 822 F.Supp. 1389 (D.Minn.1993). Approximately one week later, the NFL and the National Football League Players Association entered into a new collective bargaining agreement incorporating the terms of the settlement agreement as well as other rules regarding NFL player-employees. Upon motion to amend the original settlement to conform to the terms of the new collective bargaining agreement, the district court agreed to repeat the settlement approval process as well as to make additional factual findings. White v. NFL, 836 F.Supp. 1458 (D.Minn.1993). The process of notification, reviewal of objections, and hearings culminated on August 20, 1993, -with the district court’s entry of an order approving the settlement agreement, id., and final consent judgment. White v. NFL, 836 F.Supp. 1508 (D.Minn.1993).

II.

Mandatory class certification pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(1) is subject to the discretion of the district court. See, e.g., Chaffin v. Rheem Mfg. Co., 904 F.2d 1269, 1275 (8th Cir.1990). The objectors contend that the district court erred in failing to apply the standard set forth by the Supreme Court in Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Shutts, which required that “an absent plaintiff be provided with an opportunity to remove himself from the class by executing and returning an ‘opt out’ or ‘request for exclusion’ form to the court,” at least in cases seeking primarily monetary damages. 472 U.S. 797, 811-12, 105 S.Ct. 2965, 2974, 86 L.Ed.2d 628 (1985). In the present ease, however, there exists no absent plaintiff whose due process rights must be protected in this fashion. Rather, each of the objectors was subject to the jurisdiction of the district court. See White v. NFL, 836 F.Supp. at 1501-1504.

For a court to exercise personal jurisdiction, the party must have “minimum contacts” with the forum such that the maintenance of the suit does not violate “traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.” International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 316, 66 S.Ct. 154, 158, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945), citing Milliken v. Meyer, 311 U.S. 457, 463, 61 S.Ct. 339, 342-43, 85 L.Ed. 278 (1940). This personal jurisdiction requirement is not an Article III restriction on the federal courts, but rather an individual liberty interest flowing from the Due Process Clause. Insurance Corp. of Ireland, Ltd., et al. v. Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee, 456 U.S. 694, 702, 102 S.Ct. 2099, 2104, 72 L.Ed.2d 492 (1982). Like other such rights, therefore, the personal jurisdiction requirement can be waived. Id. at 703, 102 S.Ct. at 2105. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(h) contemplates the involuntary waiver of a defense of lack of personal jurisdiction if it is not included in a motion or in a responsive pleading. We have previously held, moreover, that the rule “sets only the outer limits of waiver; it does not preclude waiver by implication.” Yeldell v. Tutt, 913 F.2d 533, 539 (8th Cir.1990), citing Marquest Medical Prods, v. EMDE Corp., 496 F.Supp. 1242, 1245 n. 1 (D.Col.1980).

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Bluebook (online)
41 F.3d 402, 1994 WL 680414, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/white-v-national-football-league-ca8-1994.