PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With the Stanley Cup Playoffs concluded, all National Hockey League fans can now get excited about viewing next season’s games, thanks especially to a proposed settlement agreement granted preliminary approval by Honorable Shira A. Scheindlin in the United States District Court.
“The parties have successfully reached a compromise that will create more consumer choice and lower prices,” said Ned Diver, a partner at Langer, Grogan & Diver, the Philadelphia firm that is serving as lead class counsel. Under the proposed settlement, consumers outside a team’s home market will have the option of purchasing only their favorite team’s games. “For the first time in any major league sport in the U.S., consumers will be able to choose between the full, league-wide package and individual-team packages,” Mr. Diver said.
The class action lawsuit, originally filed in 2012, challenged the NHL’s broadcast practices. The complaint, brought on behalf of Comcast and DIRECTV customers and purchasers of the NHL’s streaming service, GameCenter Live, alleged that the NHL had carved up the broadcast market into exclusive territories in order to protect each team’s television partner from competition.
Langer Grogan & Diver’s team included Ned Diver, Howard Langer, John Grogan, and Peter Leckman. The class is also represented by Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC; Klein Kavanagh Costello, LLP; Motley Rice, LLC; Pomerantz, LLC; Kohn, Swift & Graf, P.C.; and Boni & Zack, LLC.
The case is Laumann, et al. v. National Hockey League, et al., 12-cv-1817 (SAS), in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Langer, Grogan & Diver, P.C. (LGD), is a nationally recognized complex commercial litigation law firm based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. LGD obtained one of the largest ever consumer class action recoveries when it reclaimed over $150 million dollars on behalf of victims of telemarketing fraud. The firm’s attorneys also obtained the largest antitrust settlement ever within the Third Circuit. LGD is widely recognized for its significant commitment to law in the public interest, through both pro bono representation and financial support. For more information, visit the firm’s website at www.langergrogan.com.