Page 27 - MIN.VOS ALEX MAY 20
P. 27
SPORTS A21
Wednesday 20 May 2015
Fight of century It’s not the first time cus- match only for it to be dis-
tomers have gone to court qualified.
A lawsuit filed on behalf of Continued from Page 17 people knew about the when things didn’t go quite Neither resulted in judg-
Flights Beer Bar near Los An- injury and when, including the way they expected in ments for refund-seeking
geles International Airport But the defendants differ. claims in a few of the law- the field of entertainment. customers. Milli Vanilli fans
in California said Pacquiao All include Pacquiao and suits that Mayweather had Remember Milli Vanilli? got a buck or two back in
and his promoter’s actions his promotions team but a spy in Pacquiao’s camp Music fans in the 1990s ar- a settlement.
some add Mayweather gued the lip-synching pop So if viewers were prom-
and his representatives, duo owed them a refund ised a fight, and they got
once it was revealed they a 12-round fight, isn’t that
weren’t actually singing. enough?
Or the bite-fight with Mike Lawyer Caleb Marker, who
Tyson? Sports fans may represents clients in two
have gotten an earful, separate class-action suits
but they contended they against Pacquiao, says
didn’t pay to see a boxing that’s arguable.q
This May 2, 2015 file photo shows Floyd Mayweather Jr., left, hits Manny Pacquiao, during their
welterweight title fight in Las Vegas.
Associated Press
were “nothing but a cash- along with HBO, Showtime and the boxer targeted
grab.” The bar paid $2,600 Pacquiao’s right shoulder
to broadcast the fight. and cable companies. during the fight.
The fighters are expected Experts in resolving legal
to earn more than $100 mil- Representatives for Pac- disputes doubt disgruntled
lion each — Mayweather boxing fans will be able to
more than Pacquiao. HBO quiao and Top Rank Pro- claim victory.
and Showtime broke re- “They’d have more law-
cords, raking in more than motions, HBO and Show- suits if they didn’t hold
$400 million from 4.4 million the fight,” said Maureen
people who paid to watch time had no comment on Weston, director of Pep-
the pay-per-view broad- perdine University’s en-
cast. the lawsuits. Mayweather tertainment, media and
Those viewers paid up to sports dispute-resolution
$100 each, and the law- Promotions did not return project.
suits want that money If a fight is what fans were
back. multiple phone messages. paying for, the boxers un-
It isn’t as easy as showing a questionably delivered,
receipt and demanding a Exhibit A for most of the she said. Just because
refund. A federal panel of people didn’t like the show
judges will likely first need lawsuits is a Nevada Ath- doesn’t mean they get
to decide if the lawsuits their money back, Weston
from multiple states and letic Commission medical said.
Puerto Rico should be con- Ultimately the question is:
solidated into one case. questionnaire that Pac- Who did Pacquiao have
From there, a judge would a legal duty to explain his
have to decide whether to quiao signed days before injury to?
certify them as class action Short answer: He didn’t
or not. the fight. When asked if he have to tell viewers, she
What’s sought in each is said. The only contract
the same: a jury trial and had any injuries, including viewers had was with their
at least $5 million in dam- cable companies, which
ages, the threshold for fed- to his shoulder, he replied, had contracts with HBO
eral class-action lawsuits. and Showtime.
“no.”
In fact, his shoulder was
injured enough to warrant
surgery shortly after the
fight.
In a twist, Pacquiao re-
vealed for the first time in
a post-fight press confer-
ence that he had torn his
rotator cuff weeks before.
The Nevada Athletic Com-
mission denied him a pain
reliever mere hours before
the fight, when regulators
first learned of the injury.
Conspiracy theories
abound as to how many
