Entertainment and Sports Law

What happens when a business manager gets involved in a dispute with one of the artist’s other advisers? A recent example is the litigation between the longtime business manager for rapper Nelly and a longtime consultant who has provided a range of services to the artist that include marketing and promotion, managing Nelly’s touring business, and seeking endorsement deals.

Keller Postman’ alleges that Jenner & Block hired a former FBI special agent to interview class members who had opted out of a $19.99 million settlement with Tubi to arbitrate their claims. The fight began earlier this year as Tubi was negotiating a class action settlement in a 2023 case brought in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleging the streaming service sold subscriber data to third parties without the consent of its users in violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA).

It’s back to court for rapper Tramar Dillard, who goes by the stage name Flo Rida, after the Florida Court of Appeals, Fourth District, ruled that a Broward trial court judge erred in his jury instructions when awarding $82.6 million in a breach of contract lawsuit against the makers of Celsius energy drinks in January 2023.

The Internet Archive has stopped defending its free digital library against a publisher-launched copyright lawsuit and announced that it won’t ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review whether the depository is a fair use of the plaintiff publishers’ copyrights.

Notable recent court filings in entertainment law.

A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.

Word that the historic French franchise Girondins de Bordeaux filed for bankruptcy recently rocked European football. Various factors led to the team's downfall. But one force in particular poses an even broader threat to the sustainability of the elite level of French soccer: media rights.

The rise in demand for in-person events post-pandemic has meant a corresponding increase in personal injury actions against venues. Consequently, venue-owner and operator clients would be wise to regularly evaluate their insurance policies (particularly general liability insurance policies) to ensure adequate coverage.