Brady v. Nat'l Football League

640 F.3d 785

190 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3094

2011-1 Trade Cases P 77,456

Tom BRADY; Drew Brees; Vincent Jackson; Ben Leber; Logan Mankins; Peyton Manning; Von Miller; Brian Robison; Osi Umenyiora; Mike Vrabel; Carl Eller; Priest Holmes; Obafemi Ayanbadejo; Ryan Collins; Antawan Walker, individually, and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Appellees,

v.NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE; Arizona Cardinals Football Club, LLC; Atlanta Falcons Football Club, LLC; Baltimore Ravens Limited Partnership; Buffalo Bills, Inc.; Panthers Football, LLC; The Chicago Bears Football Club, Inc.; Cincinnati Bengals, Inc.; Cleveland Browns Football Company LLC; Dallas Cowboys Football Club, Ltd.; PDB Sports, Ltd., doing business as The Denver Broncos Football Club, Ltd.; The Detroit Lions, Inc.; Green Bay Packers, Inc.; Houston NFL Holdings, L.P.; Indianapolis Colts, Inc.; Jacksonville Jaguars, Ltd.; Kansas City Chiefs Football Club, Inc.; Miami Dolphins, Ltd.; Minnesota Vikings Football, LLC; New England Patriots L.P.; New Orleans Louisiana Saints, L.L.C.; New York Football Giants, Inc.; New York Jets LLC; The Oakland Raiders, L.P.; Philadelphia Eagles, LLC; Pittsburgh Steelers LLC; The St. Louis Rams LLC; Chargers Football Company, LLC; San Francisco Forty Niners, Limited; Football Northwest LLC; Buccaneers Limited Partnership; Tennessee Football, Inc.; Pro–Football, Inc., Appellants.

No. 11–1898.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: May 2, 2011.Filed: May 16, 2011.

Paul D. Clement, Washington, DC, argued, for appellants.Theodore B. Olson, Washington, DC, argued, for appellees.Before BYE, COLLOTON, and BENTON, Circuit Judges.PER CURIAM.

This is an appeal by the National Football League and 32 separately-owned NFL teams (collectively the “NFL” or the “League”) from an order of the district court issuing an injunction that prohibits the League from continuing to impose a “lockout” of NFL players. Brady v. NFL, No. 11–639, –––F.Supp.2d ––––, 2011 WL 1535240 (D.Minn. Apr. 25, 2011). The named plaintiffs (the “Players”) are nine professional football players and one prospective player who brought an action on behalf of themselves and similarly situated players, alleging that the lockout is a “group boycott” that violates the federal antitrust laws and state contract and tort law. On April 25, 2011, the district court entered an order declaring that “the ‘lockout’ is enjoined.” Two days later, the court denied the League's motion for a stay of the order pending appeal. Brady v. NFL, No. 11–639, ––– F.Supp.2d ––––, 2011 WL 1578580 (D.Minn. Apr. 27, 2011).

The League filed a notice of appeal, moved in this court for a stay of the district court's order pending appeal, and sought expedited hearing of the appeal. On April 29, 2011, we granted a temporary administrative stay of the district court's order to allow the court sufficient opportunity to consider the merits of the motion for stay pending appeal. On May 3, 2011, we granted the League's motion to expedite the appeal, established a briefing schedule, and designated June 3, 2011, as the date for oral argument and submission of the case. For the reasons that follow, we now grant the League's motion for stay pending appeal.

I.

There is a long history of litigation between the NFL and professional football players, much of which is described in prior opinions of this court and the district court. See, e.g., White v. NFL, 585 F.3d 1129 (8th Cir.2009); White v. NFL, 41 F.3d 402 (8th Cir.1994); Powell v. NFL, 930 F.2d 1293 (8th Cir.1989); Mackey v. NFL, 543 F.2d 606 (8th Cir.1976). For purposes of resolving this motion, an abbreviated summary of the more recent history will suffice. In 1992, a jury rendered a verdict in favor of several players, determining that the League's limits on the ability of players to move from team to team after their contracts expire violated Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. McNeil v. NFL, 1992 WL 315292, at *1 (D.Minn. Sept. 10, 1992). Shortly thereafter, several players brought another antitrust action seeking to prevent the League from imposing any restrictions on the movement of players whose contracts expired on February 1, 1993. White v. NFL, 822 F.Supp. 1389, 1395 (D.Minn.1993). In February 1993, the League and a class of NFL players entered into a Stipulation and Settlement Agreement to resolve that litigation. The settlement agreement provided that the district court would retain jurisdiction over enforcement of the agreement. See White v. NFL, 836 F.Supp. 1458, 1473 (D.Minn.1993).

Later that year, the National Football League Players Association (“NFLPA”), as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of the NFL players, and the NFL Management Council, the multi-employer bargaining unit of the NFL owners, reached a new collective bargaining agreement. The agreement was amended and extended several times, and each time, the enforcement jurisdiction of the district court was retained as part of the agreement. White, 585 F.3d at 1134. In May 2008, however, the NFL exercised its right to opt out of the last two years of the most recent agreement, and both the settlement agreement and the collective bargaining agreement were thus due to expire at 11:59 p.m. on March 11, 2011.

For two years prior to the expiration of the agreements, the Players and the League engaged in negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement, but they did not resolve their differences. As the expiration date approached, the League indicated that it might use a lockout of the players as a tactic in the bargaining process. See Am. Ship Bldg. Co. v. NLRB, 380 U.S. 300, 301–02, 85 S.Ct. 955, 13 L.Ed.2d 855 (1965). The Players then determined that it would not be in their interest to remain unionized, because the existence of the union would “allow the NFL to impose anticompetitive restrictions with impunity,” Compl. ¶ 54, so they took steps to terminate the NFLPA's status as their collective bargaining agent as of 4:00 p.m. on March 11. The NFLPA notified the League that as of 4:00 p.m. on March 11, it disclaimed any interest in representing the Players in further negotiations.

Also on March 11, the Players filed their complaint in this action, alleging that the lockout threatened by the League would violate the federal antitrust laws and state contract and tort law. Among other relief, the Players sought a preliminary injunction that would prohibit the League from imposing or continuing the lockout.

On March 12, the League imposed a lockout of the Players. At that point, the League notified players under contract that, among other things, they were not permitted to enter team facilities except in connection with a non-team event or a charitable event, they would not receive compensation or health insurance benefits from their teams, and they were not permitted to play, practice, workout, attend meetings, or consult with team medical or training staff at team facilities. The League also filed an amended unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board on March 11, alleging that the NFLPA's disclaimer was a “sham” and that the combination of a disclaimer by the union and subsequent antitrust litigation was a “ploy and an unlawful subversion of the collective bargaining process.” The League had filed a previous charge in February 2011, alleging that the union failed to confer in good faith during negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement.

After receiving briefs and affidavits from the parties and hearing oral argument from counsel, the district court entered an order that enjoined the lockout. The court rejected the League's argument that a federal statute, the Norris–LaGuardia Act, 29 U.S.C. § 101, et seq., deprived the court of jurisdiction to grant injunctive relief, because the court concluded that this is not a case “involving or growing out of a labor dispute” as defined by the Act. The court also rejected the League's position that it should stay the case, under the doctrine of primary jurisdiction, see Reiter v. Cooper, 507 U.S. 258, 268–69, 113 S.Ct. 1213, 122 L.Ed.2d 604 (1993), pending a decision by the National Labor Relations Board on the League's unfair labor practice charges. The court determined that the Players had demonstrated that they were suffering, and would continue to suffer, irreparable harm as a result of the lockout, that the harm to the Players outweighed any harm an injunction would cause the NFL, and that the Players had a fair chance of success on the merits of their lawsuit. On the merits, the court concluded that the non-statutory labor exemption from antitrust liability, see Brown v. Pro Football, Inc., 518 U.S. 231, 116 S.Ct. 2116, 135 L.Ed.2d 521 (1996), does not extend “to protect the labor negotiation tool of a ‘lockout,’ as opposed to a mandatory term of collective bargaining, after a union has disclaimed any further representation of its members.” Brady, ––– F.Supp.2d at ––––, 2011 WL 1535240, at *36. For these reasons, the court entered the preliminary injunction.

II.

Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 8(a) governs the power of a court of appeals to stay an order of a district court pending appeal. Under that Rule, we consider four factors in determining whether to issue a stay: “(1) whether the stay applicant has made a strong showing that he is likely to succeed on the merits; (2) whether the applicant will be irreparably injured absent a stay; (3) whether issuance of the stay will substantially injure the other parties interested in the proceeding; and (4) where the public interest lies.” Hilton v. Braunskill, 481 U.S. 770, 776, 107 S.Ct. 2113, 95 L.Ed.2d 724 (1987). The most important factor is the appellant's likelihood of success on the merits. Shrink Mo. Gov. PAC v. Adams, 151 F.3d 763, 764 (8th Cir.1998); S & M Constructors, Inc. v. The Foley Co., 959 F.2d 97, 98 (8th Cir.1992). The movant must show that it will suffer irreparable injury unless...