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Players Add Plaintiffs, Amend Their Minnesota Complaint v. NBA

Last week, Caron Butler, Ben Gordon, Anthony Tolliver, and Derrick Williams filed a Class Action Complaint against the NBA and its member teams in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.  At roughly the same time, another class of NBA players filed a similar lawsuit in the Northern District of California.  The California lawsuit has since been dismissed without prejudice, and the Complaint filed in Minnesota has been amended to include the Plaintiffs from the California suit.

The following list displays the current class of Plaintiffs in the Minnesota lawsuit along with their respective agents.

  • Carmelo Anthony – Leon Rose (CAA)
  • Chauncey Billups – Andy Miller (ASM Sports)
  • Caron Butler – Raymond Brothers
  • Baron Davis – Bill Duffy (BDA Sports)
  • Kevin Durant – Aaron Goodwin (Goodwin Sports Management)
  • Ben Gordon – Raymond Brothers
  • Kawhi Leonard – Brian Elfus (Impact Sports Management)
  • Steve Nash – Bill Duffy (BDA Sports)
  • Leon Powe – Aaron Goodwin (Goodwin Sports Management)
  • Anthony Randolph – Bill Duffy (BDA Sports)
  • Rajon Rondo – Bill Duffy (BDA Sports)
  • Sebastian Telfair – Andy Miller (ASM Sports)
  • Anthony Tolliver – Larry Fox
  • Derrick Williams – Rob Pelinka (Landmark Sports Agency)

With the addition of the new Plaintiffs, there no longer appears to be a claim that all Plaintiffs are somehow tied to the state of Minnesota (other than the fact that they all travel to Minnesota in away games against the Timberwolves).  My friend Marc Edelman, who I consider to be one of the leading experts on Antitrust in Sport, believes that the NBA players smartly dismissed their California Complaint in favor of joining up with the class in Minnesota.  He feels that it will be easier for the class to argue market power in the Minnesota jurisdiction as opposed to the Northern District of California jurisdiction, where precedent may have worked against the players’ arguments.

NBA players will now put up a fight, in unison, in the same court that NFL players were heard within the past year.  The Honorable Patrick J. Schlitz is the judge that has been randomly selected to hear the NBA case.  As Michael McCann has pointed out, Judge Schlitz was a lawyer in the case concerning the Timberwolves’ attempt at relocating to New Orleans and has represented the NFL in several cases.

NBA Amended Complaint in Minnesota

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.