Steiner, et al. v. ABC, et al.
Blecher & Collins represented a class of music composers and owners of sound recordings' against ABC. Plaintiffs alleged that the ABC television network included musical compositions and sound recordings in episodes of soap operas (General Hospital, All My Children, and One Life to Live) without obtaining proper licenses in violation of U.S. Copyright Law. After an initial settlement prompted the intervention of the major record companies and publishers, the case ultimately settled, and received court approval, for $65 million and payments have been distributed to the individual copyright owners.
The Music Force, et al. v. Viacom Inc., et al.
Blecher & Collins represented a class of musical composers and owners of sound recordings against Viacom and its MTV Networks division. Plaintiffs alleged that Viacom included musical compositions and sound recordings in various shows without obtaining proper licenses in violation of U.S. Copyright law. The case settled for $12.5 million and payments have been distributed to the individual copyright owners.
White, et al. v. NCAA
Blecher & Collins represented the student-athlete class against the NCAA in a certified, antitrust class action alleging that the NCAA violated the federal antitrust laws by restricting amounts of athletic-based financial aid. The NCAA settled and paid an additional $218 million for use by current student-athletes to cover the costs of attending college, paid $10 million to cover educational and professional development expenses for former student-athletes, and enacted new legislation to permit Division I institutions to provide year-round comprehensive health insurance to student-athletes.
Keith Warlick v. Fog Cutter Capital Group, Inc., et. al
Blecher & Collins filed a minority shareholder lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court. Warlick is the former President and CEO of the Fatburger hamburger chain. Warlick's investment group was the largest minority shareholder group of Fatburger. The suit alleges that the Fog Cutter investment group used fraudulent and unlawful means in violation of the California state securities laws and in breach of its fiduciary duties to engage in a scheme to dilute the holdings of common shares of Warlick and his investment group from about a 35% share of the common stock to less than 5% without any compensation. The lawsuit seeks damages of in excess of $10 million for the fair compensation of the common stock of the Warlick Group which suffered from the dilution. It is being litigated together with a related action in which Warlick is seeking damages for wrongful termination under his Employment Agreement, retaliation based on his objections to unlawful conduct, and discrimination based on his race. Both matters are ongoing.
