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In June 2025, Hollingsworth LLP, as counsel for the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the National Football League (NFL) urging the Ninth Circuit to uphold District Court Judge Philip S. Gutierrez’s exclusion of plaintiffs’ damages experts, Prof. Daniel Rascher and Dr. John Zona, in the In re National Football League’s “Sunday Ticket” Antitrust Litigation.

The Sunday Ticket litigation is an antitrust class action in the Central District of California in which plaintiffs allege that the NFL and DirecTV violated antitrust laws by requiring consumers to purchase the Sunday Ticket package as a bundled offering instead of providing single-team options. In 2024, a California jury found that the NFL violated antitrust laws by restricting the availability of out-of-market Sunday afternoon games, allowing DirecTV to overcharge subscribers, awarding plaintiffs nearly $4.8 billion against the NFL and DirecTV. However, Judge Gutierrez ruled that the plaintiffs’ expert damages witnesses should be excluded because they used flawed methodologies. He also vacated the jury’s verdict finding that it was based on the flawed methodologies of the damages experts. Plaintiffs appealed to the Ninth Circuit.

The amicus brief urges the Ninth Circuit to affirm the district court’s exclusion of plaintiffs’ expert testimony. The amicus brief argues that the district court correctly applied the recently amended Federal Rule of Evidence 702, which clarifies a judge’s gatekeeping role in excluding unreliable expert opinions. Highlighting the rule’s intent to counteract “wayward” judicial interpretations and overreliance on juries to weigh expert testimony, the brief contends that plaintiffs relied on outdated, pre-amendment case law in support of their experts. It also underscores that improper expert analysis risks due process violations and distorted verdicts, advocating for strict adherence to Rule 702’s heightened reliability standards.

Hollingsworth LLP continues to be at the forefront of the Rule 702 amendments and issues of admissibility of expert testimony. Counsel for the amicus brief were firm partners, Shannon N. Proctor, Eric G. Lasker, and Elyse A. Shimada.

The International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) has been serving a distinguished membership of corporate and insurance defense attorneys and insurance executives since 1920. Its activities benefit the approximately 2,500 invitation-only, peer-reviewed members and their clients, as well as the civil justice system and the legal profession. Moreover, the IADC takes a leadership role in many areas of legal reform and professional development.