As first reported by Kevin Iole at Yahoo! Sports, the parent company of the UFC has sued Bellator, alleging that the rival promotion wrongfully gained access to, and used confidential contracts and other documents created by Zuffa. The alleged source of the disclosure is MMA superagent Ken Pavia.
Justin Klein, author of The Fight Lawyer blog, provides an interesting and detailed analysis of the lawsuit here.
More to come....
According to the Chicago Tribune, Wisconsin officials will hold a series of meetings about the recently passed regulations governing mixed martial arts in that state. The first meeting is scheduled to take place in Wausau August 4, 2010. The new regulations themselves take effect September 1, 2010.
The Chicago Tribune article is good news for a couple of reasons. First, although Wisconsin is the most recent state to pass mixed martial arts regulations, the legislation passed with far fewer obstacles than in most of the previous 42 states to sanction the sport. Regulation of MMA continues to gain momentum, and Wisconsin's efforts to follow up and educate people in the industry provide a good model for other states that wish to pass (or revise) regulations. Second, it's just nice to see a major newspaper provide coverage about MMA that is unrelated to an injury in the cage or a fighter's arrest.
The family of fallen fighter Michael Kirkham provided a statement published on MidwestFightersFocus.com. Notably, the family does not want Kirkham's death to become a rallying cry for opponents of the legalization/regulation of mixed martial arts, stating:
We also hope that this does not become an argument for trying to ban the sport that Michael so dearly loved! He would not want his name to be used for that purpose!!
As posted earlier, donations are being taken for the family and MixedMartialArtsLawBlog is contributing to the cause. If you are a fan of MMA and, in particular, if you have had the privilege of watching it in person, please do your part to support the family of someone who also loved the sport and laid down his life chasing after his dream.
An 18-year old was murdered in Hawaii in August 2009, and new developments in the case have some interesting legal implications. Corbit Ahn was taken into custody about a week after the murder of Iris Rodrigues-Kaikana and was held at the Oahu Community Correctional Center.
The father of the victim has sued Ahn, which is not unusual as civil suits for wrongful death often follow murders. What is unusual is that the mixed martial arts academy where Ahn trained has also been sued. I suspect that the plaintiff's attorney assumed that Ahn (who has an 0-1 MMA record and an extensive criminal record) would be "judgment proof," meaning that even if the lawsuit was successful, there could be no recovery of assets since Ahn would have no money and no way to get any in prison.
I have not yet seen a copy of the lawsuit, but the most likely legal theory is that the academy gave Ahn the skills he used to kill Rodrigues-Kaikana. As other commenters have noted, this theory has huge holes. (Can you successfully sue a driviing school if your loved one is the victim of a hit and run?) Even so, the case highlights the need for MMA schools and instructors to have insurance that not only covers damages awards, but also the cost of defending against a lawsuit.
In yet another odd twist to the case, Ahn could actully end up with some of his own assets. He was recently assaulted at the OCCC and his attorney says the guards were in on it. If there is any evidence to support that allegation, you can bet that Ahn will be involved in another lawsuit--this time as the plaintiff.
Although few additional facts have come to light about the precise cause of death of Michael Kirkham, articles have shed some light on the financial burdens his family will face after his passing. As reported by MMAJunkie.com, Kirkham had five children and did not carry any life insurance.
The trainer of Kirkham's opponent in the tragic June 26 bout is helping promote a memorial fund to cover funeral expenses and put some money in trust for Kirkham's children. The website where you can donate directly is http://michaelkirkhammemorialfund.viviti.com.
Additionally, for every new, verified email subscriber in the month of July, MixedMartialArtsLawBlog.com will donate $5 to the fund (up to $500 total). Just add your email address using the field in the leftside title bar of the website and then respond to the verification email. The whole process takes less than two minutes. (MMALB is available to RSS Feed subscribers too, but I can't track those, so this fundraising effort has to be email based only.)
David Nelmark is a partner in the Des Moines, Iowa law firm of Belin McCormick, P.C. He helps individuals andMore...
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