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#3: The Commissioner (II): Business Decisions, Judicial Review, and Relevance of Precedent

#3: The Commissioner (II): Business Decisions, Judicial Review, and Relevance of Precedent. Turner v Kuhn. Why is “tampering” against the best interests of baseball?. Turner /2.

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#3: The Commissioner (II): Business Decisions, Judicial Review, and Relevance of Precedent

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  1. #3: The Commissioner (II):Business Decisions, Judicial Review, and Relevance of Precedent SPORTS LAW FALL 2010

  2. Turner v Kuhn • Why is “tampering” against the best interests of baseball? SPORTS LAW FALL 2010

  3. Turner /2 • Do you agree that Art. II, §3, providing that “punitive actions by the Commissioner … may involve any one or more of the following…” limits the Commissioner’s discretion to the expressly listed punishments? • Does the maxim “expresio unius est exclusio alterius” accurately describe the parties intent? SPORTS LAW FALL 2010

  4. Turner/ 3 • Court holds this provision must be “strictly construed” because it “purports to authorize the imposition of a penalty or forfeiture” • Contract law concept • Private association law • Significant of default rule SPORTS LAW FALL 2010

  5. Cubs v Vincent • What is the best alignment of NL teams into two divisions? • Why does the Commissioner need to intervene here? Why won’t the parties, per the Coase Theorem, reach the same result? SPORTS LAW FALL 2010

  6. Cubs /2 • Agree that “common sense and ordinary meaning” of MLB Const precludes the Commissioner’s action? • Absent the other specific provisions of the MLB Const giving owners authority to determine league alignment and giving owners’ vetoes, would Comm’r have the power to intervene to re-align leagues? SPORTS LAW FALL 2010

  7. New amendment to Art II §4 • Should major business decisions fall within the Commissioner’s authority? • Do you agree with the NBA’s constitutional provisions that important decisions, like intra-owner disputes, are left to the Board of Governors rather than the Commissioner? SPORTS LAW FALL 2010

  8. Adding to the Commissioner’s Powers over Business Decisions • Why make the Commissioner the owners’ chief labor negotiator? • Why give the Commissioner the power to intervene to ensure “an appropriate level of competitive balance”? SPORTS LAW FALL 2010

  9. Judicial Review • Should courts enforce the waiver of recourse clauses in league constitutions? • What if the Commissioner’s decision is beyond the “scope of his authority”? SPORTS LAW FALL 2010

  10. To Whom Does the Commissioner Owe His Duty? • Background to Raiders v NFL and Tagliabue • Al Davis acquired control of Raiders when AFL was rival to NFL in early ‘60s • Became an owner/commissioner just prior to the merger, ironically planning on adding another team in LA to rival the Rams • one-time rival of Pete Rozelle remained a maverick once part of NFL ownership • insistence on relocating to LA, then back to Oakland, resulted in all sorts of lawsuits we’ll study later SPORTS LAW FALL 2010

  11. Raiders/ fiduciary duty • According to Davis, what did Tagliabue do wrong? • How does the court rule on the allegations? • Does Tagliabue have any fiduciary duties? SPORTS LAW FALL 2010

  12. Course of Performance • [refresher from contract law]: Suppose we make a contract for me to sell you chickens, and for six months in a row I deliver broiler chickens and you accept and pay for them; on the seventh month, you claim that the phrase “chicken” means fryer chickens, refuse to accept, and sue me for cover on the fryer chickens you purchased; what result? SPORTS LAW FALL 2010

  13. Course of Performance & Commissioner’s Authority • Do you agree w/ Judge Wagner [14] that unauthorized acts do not become authorized thru repetition? • Why doesn't course of performance support Johnson's interp of the A.L. Const? • Agree with Wagner that course of performance trumped here by a violation of "fundamental concepts of justice"? • Why do the courts in Turner/Cubs reject prior precedent as support for the Commissioner’s challenged decision? SPORTS LAW FALL 2010

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