District Court Declines to Certify Damages Subclass in NCAA Case

On November 8, 2013, the Northern District of California certified a class of current and former student athletes seeking injunctive relief under the Sherman Act but declined to certify a damages subclass in the case In re NCAA Student-Athlete Name & Likeness Licensing Litig., 4:09-cv-01967-CW (N.D. Cal. November 8, 2013).  The plaintiffs, current and former NCAA Division I men's football and basketball players, alleged that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) conspired with a video game developer and a marketing firm in developing rules prohibiting student athletes from receiving compensation for the commercial use of their names, images and likenesses.

Plaintiffs sought certification of the injunctive relief class pursuant to Rule 23(b)(2) and certification of the damages class under Rule 23(b)(3).  The Court certified the injunctive relief class, rejecting defendants' argument that certification under Rule 23(b)(2) is inappropriate where plaintiffs