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The decision from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday reversed a federal judge who had tossed a $4.7 billion verdict against the league.
October 30, 2026 10:20am
A federal appeals court has revived a verdict that the National Football League overcharged fans for Sunday Ticket and ordered a new trial on damages.
The decision from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday reversed a federal judge who had tossed a $4.7 billion verdict against the league. “We remand this case for the district court to reinstate the jury’s liability verdict,” stated the order.
The long running legal battle centered on allegations that the league and its 32 teams conspired in violation of antitrust laws to allow the NFL to reach exclusive deals with broadcast partners for the right to air out-of-market games.
A jury had sided with fans, ordering the NFL to pay $4.7 billion. But the federal judge overseeing the case later granted the NFL’s bid to void the verdict, finding that some of the testimony from experts who testified in the trial should’ve been excluded.
The federal appeals court concluded that U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez overstepped its role as a gatekeeper of expert testimony.
“Opinions are neither unfounded nor unreliable merely because they are impeachable,” the ruling stated. “Such opinions are for the jury to weigh at trial. Once a jury does so, its verdict must stand unless it is clearly not supported by the evidence.”
More to come.
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Source: The Hollywood Reporter · Winston Cho
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