A federal magistrate judge on
Monday night ordered the NCAA to pay nearly $46 million in attorneys' fees and costs to lawyers for the plaintiffs in the Ed O'Bannon
class-action antitrust lawsuit against the association.
Nathanael
Cousins' decision came nearly a year after U.S. District Judge Claudia
Wilken ruled that the NCAA's limits on what major college football and
men's basketball players can receive for playing sports "unreasonably
restrain trade" in violation of antitrust laws. Although the case —
which began in the summer of 2009 — did not include a financial damages
component, Wilken ruled that the plaintiffs "shall recover their costs
from the NCAA."
The NCAA has
appealed the ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Appeals, and a three-judge
panel heard oral arguments in mid-March but has yet to issue an opinion.
The fees-and-costs award could be affected by the appellate panel's decision.
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