22-07-2025
US appeals court revives antitrust lawsuit over Puerto Rican baseball league
July 22 (Reuters) - Puerto Rico's top baseball league must face claims that it conspired to suppress competition in the popular sport on the island, home to many current and former stars of Major League Baseball, a federal appeals court ruled.
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a ruling, opens new tab on Monday revived part of a lawsuit that was filed in 2022 against the league and others by a former owner-operator of a franchise in Puerto Rico's professional baseball league, Liga de Béisbol Profesional de Puerto Rico.
The Boston-based appeals court, which hears federal cases from Puerto Rico, said that former owner Thomas Axon could pursue a narrowed antitrust and civil rights lawsuit against the league and others.
The appeals court upheld the dismissal of U.S. federal antitrust claims, but allowed antitrust and fair competition claims under Puerto Rican laws.
In a statement, Winston & Strawn's Jeffrey Kessler, a lead attorney for the plaintiffs, welcomed the 1st Circuit's order allowing the case to proceed and said they were weighing their options over the dismissal of the federal antitrust allegations.
Francisco Colón-Ramírez, a lawyer for the baseball league, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Axon in the lawsuit said rival teams had worked to block his efforts in 2019 to restore his franchise through major new broadcast initiatives, better salaries, enhanced sponsorships and expanded merchandising.
He alleged that the baseball league seized his investor-operator interest without compensation or due process, and moved to box him out of the league.
The league and other defendants have denied any wrongdoing.
In dismissing the lawsuit, U.S. District Judge William Young in 2023 pointed to the 'baseball exemption' of federal antitrust law. The U.S. Supreme Court in a 1922 case concluded antitrust law does not apply to the business of baseball.
In the latest in a string of legal challenges involving the baseball exemption, Axon's lawyers argued it only applies to Major League Baseball and its direct affiliates, and not to the Puerto Rican league. Young disagreed.
The 1st Circuit panel — Chief Judge Barron, joined by Circuit Judges O. Rogeriee Thompson and Gustavo Gelpí — suggested the exemption is out of touch with the modern realities of baseball. But the Supreme Court, the panel said, has declined so far to overrule it.
The case is Cangrejeros de Santurce Baseball Club LLC et al v. Liga de Béisbol Profesional de Puerto Rico Inc et al, 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 23-1589.
For plaintiffs: Jeffrey Kessler of Winston & Strawn
For defendants: Francisco Colón-Ramírez of Colón Ramírez
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