NFL Sunday Ticket Plaintiffs Push For Class Certification In Antitrust Suit

A once-dismissed antitrust lawsuit brought in 2015 by a collection of NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers against the NFL and DirecTV—the subscribers claim they were effectively ripped off—could soon become a class action case.

On Aug. 19, attorneys for the plaintiffs petitioned the presiding judge, Philip Gutierrez of Los Angeles’ federal district court, to certify two classes. One would include residential subscribers to DirecTV who bought the Sunday Ticket after June 17, 2011; the other would cover commercial subscribers during the same period.

This is significant because the larger the class, the more threatening the case. Potential damages climb as the number of class members increase. Also, damages can be trebled under antitrust law, which further highlights the potentially threatening nature of the case.

The federal rules of civil procedure make class certification a multifaceted process: Judge Gutierrez will only certify the proposed classes if he finds, among other factors, there are questions of law or fact common to the classes and the accompanying claims are representative. A hearing on class certification is scheduled for Dec. 16.

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