Case Analysis #1
Sport Law
Nick Wisner njwisner@eiu.edu

Marucci Sports, L.L.C., Plaintiff, v. National Collegiate Athletic Association; National Federation of State High School Associations, Defendants. No. 13-30568 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit May 6, 2014. Introduction Marucci Sports, LLC brought action against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and National Federation of State High School Association (NFHS) for allegedly segregating their company by not allowing Marucci to sell their non-wood baseball bats in the market. By doing so, this put new companies at a large disadvantage, and gives them little chance to succeed against larger companies such a Louisville Slugger, DeMarini, Easton and Rawlings. Complaint Marucci Sports, LLC is a bat manufacturer that tried to enter the large company competition. In order to legally sell sports equipment in the market, your product must pass the Bat-Ball Coefficient of Restitution Standard (BBCOR Standard) once a year. The first year that Marucci entered their product, which was an aluminum bat, to be tested was in 2010. When the bat was first submitted for testing, several bats passed the test. The following year when Marucci entered their product for yearly testing in 2012 there were four bats that did not pass the compliance test. The following year the bats were retested and again, were found not up to par, and were denied certification. On April the 18th Marucci filed a lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Federation of State High School Association (NFHS), and Washington State University (WSU) for ‘conspiracy theory’ claiming that big name companies such as Rawlings, Louisville Slugger, Easton, and DeMarini are in conspiracy with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and National Federation of State High School Association (NFHS) for supposedly not following procedure on the Sherman Act.

Findings of the case After many attempts to go after the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the National Federation of State High School Association, and Washington State University, the District Court denied the motion, and closed the case. Marucci never brought forth ample proof that and of the accused companies committed any crime. The court offered Marucci three opportunities to state a claim, when they came up empty handed on several occasions, the District Court decided that Marucci had no ground to stand on, and quickly made a judgment that the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the National Federation of State High School Association and Washington State University had done nothing wrong. Verdict of the court This case was dismissed by the districts court, because there was no solid proof of the accusations that Marucci was making against the Nation Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National federation of State High School Association (NFHS) and Washington State University (WSU). The court decided that the Sherman Anti-Trust Act was not put into place to protect small businesses from larger, more successful ones, it was in place to promote healthy competition between all companies, disregarding the size all together. The courts decided to dismiss all claims and accusations brought on by Marucci because there was no evidence that the Sherman Act was being disobeyed in any way by any of the companies that were being sued. Risk management tips The following risk management tips could have prevented this issue from happening: 1. Before getting BBCOR Standard certified, ensure your bats are up to standard before bringing it in for certification. 2. Try focusing on producing one great quality bat that will definitely pass the BBCOR Standard, and not four mediocre bats that will not pass the BBCOR. 3. There should be more than one regulation for bats, there should be a test that is before or after the BBCOR, that way there are two certifications, and if a company fails both there is no way to prove conspiracy. If a company passes one and fails another the test should be re-administered. 4. Have an outside company process the examinations for larger bat companies so there is no bias. 5. Before you send your product to get BBCOR certified, you should send it to another company that is outside of your own, to get any additional feedback and results before you send it in for the real exam. 6. Be sure you have a legitimate reason to file suit against a company much larger than yours, before you spend unnecessary time and money that you could save. 7. Have quality checks throughout your production line, that way if there is a quality issue, it can be fixed immediately, rather than finding out that there is a major issue down the road when you can’t afford to fix it.