Earlier this year, TKO Group Holding, the parent company of UFC, announced that it had agreed to pay $335 million to settle the Le v. Zuffa and Johnson v. Zuffa class action lawsuits. However, Judge Richard Boulware refused to approve the settlement on July 30, saying the fighters would receive less pay from the settlement.
The judge ordered the Le vs. Zuffa case back on trial and scheduled a tentative trial date for October 28th. The status conference will be held on August 19th to decide the trial date.
Boulware recently stated that the fighters in Johnson v. Zuffa can object to arbitration and class action waiver clauses in existing contracts. However, Eric Cramer, an attorney for fighters, stated during the hearing that the plaintiffs should take the money instead of going to trial.
UFC issued the following statement regarding the court decision:
“We obviously disagree with this ruling and believe it disregards the expertise of counsel from both sides, as well as that of an accomplished and expert mediator – all of whom have decades of experience in antitrust case law.
It prevents the athletes from receiving what they have argued is in their best interest and unwinds an extensively negotiated settlement that, in the plaintiffs’ counsel’s own words, ‘would far surpass the typical antitrust class action settlement’ and ‘is an excellent result for the Settlement Classes by all traditional measures.’
Additionally, by taking the unusual step of denying the settlement at this preliminary approval stage, the Judge is also denying the athletes their right to be heard during this pivotal moment in the case.
As we have said throughout this process, we believe strongly in the merits of our cases and are evaluating all our options – including, without limitation, an appeal – and have initiated discussions with plaintiffs’ counsel who have expressed a willingness to engage in separate settlement discussions for the Le and Johnson cases.”
TKO Group Holding responded to the court decision via SEC filing as follows:
“On July 30, 2024, following the court’s hearings on the parties’ submission to approve their agreement to settle all claims asserted in both class action lawsuits (Le and Johnson) for an aggregate amount of $335 million payable by the Company and its subsidiaries in installments over an agreed-upon period of time, the court issued its ruling and denied the motion for preliminary approval of the settlement agreement. The court has not issued an opinion explaining its reasoning at this time, but the court has scheduled a status conference for August 19, 2024 and a new tentative trial date for Le for October 28, 2024. The Company is evaluating all of its options, including, without limitation, an appeal, and has also initiated discussions with plaintiffs’ counsel, who have expressed a willingness to engage in separate settlement discussions for the Le and Johnson cases. A motion to dismiss the complaint in Johnson remains pending and no trial date has been set.”