The O’Bannon plaintiffs recently amended their petition to include current student-athletes and additional claims. EA Sports has now sought leave of court to file a motion to dismiss. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken indicated that she would not allow the defendants to respond to Plaintiffs’ latest pleadings. EA Sports, however, claims that the O’Bannon plaintiffs have abandoned their claims against EA Sports to focus on NCAA broadcast licensing revenue. Further, EA Sports argues that the O’Bannon plaintiffs only believe EA Sports is “liable because it follows the NCAA rules.” If EA Sports is dismissed from the litigation at this stage, it will not have to fight through substantial expenses and time before filing a dispositive motion that would likely be filed at or near the end of the discovery period. In that regard, EA Sports states in their motion that it “should not be forced to continue to litigate this case for another six months (or more), until dispositive motions on liability are briefed and decided.”

For any questions, feel free to contact Christian Dennie at cdennie@bgsfirm.com.