Plaintiff in NCAA Antitrust Suit Seeks Class Certification

Last May, a former football player at the University of Washington filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, claiming that the association's rule limiting football teams to 85 scholarships per season was a restraint of trade in violation of antitrust laws. An earlier post contains my analysis of why his suit is destined to fail.

Now, he has filed a motion for his lawsuit to be declared a class action. This is a key juncture in the suit: if the court denies class status, then it will probably not be economical for a single plaintiff to continue. The damage awards, if any, will simply be much smaller than the costs of litigation. This lawsuit seems to have a decent chance at class certification: the plaintiff's claims are typical of the class, the issue of law (violation of the Sherman Act) is common to all class members, there so many class members that individual suits and joinder would be impracticable and the plaintiff seems to be an adequate representative.

However, courts often use the class certification stage to get rid of frivolous lawsuits. In addition, courts have always been more reluctant to certify nationwide classes. Thus, I would not be surprised to see class certification denied after the motion is argued in June.

The case is Carroll v. NCAA, in the Western District of Washington. For those with Westlaw, the cite for the motion is 2005 WL 544116.

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