Defendants Argue for MDL Consolidation in New York For Mayweather-McGregor Class Actions

Elizabeth DiNardo,
Legal Staff Writer

On October 4, 2017, premium cable channel Showtime Network Inc. (“Showtime”) petitioned the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to consolidate all eight pending class action suits concerning the live streaming of August’s much anticipated, and highly promoted, Mayweather v. McGregor fight in the Southern District of New York. Showtime is just one of several defendants named in the suits. Other defendants include Showtime Digital Inc., NeuLion Inc, Ultimate Fighting Championship (“UFC”) and its parent company, Zuffa LLC, as well as Zuffa’s owner, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment LLC. In its petition, Showtime argued that the Southern District of New York is the most appropriate consolidation venue as three of the eight suits are already pending in the Southern District of New York. Further, Showtime pointed out that New York is a convenient hub for, home to Showtime’s headquarters, as well as the location of the headquarters for defendants Showtime Digital Inc. and NeuLion Inc. For these reasons, Showtime argued, it would allow for easier coordination of witnesses, employees and the sharing of documents, which would speed along the discovery process considerably.

The cases themselves all similarly allege that plaintiffs had difficulties accessing and live streaming the fight, which cost viewers around $99.95 to order from the various defendants’ pay-per-view streaming platforms. The plaintiffs also similarly request relief including both compensatory and statutory damages, in addition to attorney fees and costs.

The Case is: In re: McGregor-Mayweather Boxing Match Pay-Per-View Litigation, Case No.: 2806, before the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.

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