Fantasy Sports Site Class Actions Consolidated to MDL in Massachusetts
On February 4, 2016, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) announced they would consolidate around 80 actions in thirty districts against popular online fantasy sports sites, FanDuel Inc. and DraftKings Inc., into a multidistrict litigation in the District of Massachusetts.
Plaintiffs’ allegations generally fall into one of three categories. First, Plaintiffs are accusing the companies of insider trading. Plaintiffs contend that had they known employees were participating on the sites with non-public information, giving them an unfair advantage, they would not have participated in the contests. Second, Plaintiffs claim that the fantasy sports sites promoted illegal gambling, violating the gambling prohibitions in one or more states. Lastly, Plaintiffs are accusing the sites of false advertising and consumer fraud, and in some cases, consumers are seeking to be reimbursed for losses incurred on the site. Plaintiffs contend that DraftKings promised to match new players’ initial account deposits up to $600, but in actuality a player could not receive the full match before paying thousands of dollars in entry fees within a four-month period.
Beginning on January 28, 2016, the JPML held hearings on the matter of consolidation. Plaintiffs argued for consolidation in various courts including the Southern District of New York, the Southern District of Florida, the Eastern District of Louisiana, the Southern District of Illinois, the District of Colorado and the District of Massachusetts. Conversely, some plaintiffs argued against consolidation, pointing to the fact that not all of the suits have the same claims and unique state laws would have to be considered.
Ultimately the JPML decided that the actions share common factual questions and that all parties would benefit from common discovery and pretrial motions. Further, a significant number of plaintiffs making these allegations reside in the District of Massachusetts. Defendants also supported centralization in this district, which is the location of DraftKings’ headquarters. Judge George A. O’Toole, Jr. will preside over the coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings.
The case is: In re: Daily Fantasy Sports Litigation, MDL No. 2677
Counsel Financial provides working capital credit lines up to $5 million exclusively for the plaintiffs' bar in all states except California, where credit lines are issued by California Attorney Lending. Explore all of our financial solutions designed for contingent fee practice.