US: Antitrust lawsuit against MLB blackouts will proceed

The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals won’t intervene in an antitrust lawsuit.

Last August, US District Judge Shira Scheindlin issued a decision in a proposed class-action lawsuit brought by fans of Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League upset at the high cost of out-of-market games on television and digital blackouts for games. She rejected defendants’ summary judgment motion and also decided that MLB’s nearly century-old antitrust exemption doesn’t apply to television broadcasting rights.

The MLB asked the judge for permission for an interlocutory appeal and was refused. The league then sought a writ of mandamus to get the 2nd Circuit’s permission for an appeal anyway.

But on Wednesday, the 2nd Circuit came out with its order to deny MLB a chance to immediately appeal because it hadn’t “demonstrated that exceptional circumstances warrant the requested relief.”

At the district court level in New York, proceedings have continued and both sides are gearing up for a hearing next month over whether the judge should certify a class action.

Full Content: SB Nation

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