Molinas v. National Basketball Association

• Decision Date: 11 January 1961
• Parties: Jacob L. MOLINAS, Plaintiff, v. NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION, Maurice Podoloff, Boston Celtics Basketball Club, Inc., Zollner Machine Works, Inc., Minneapolis Basketball, Inc., Madison Square Garden Corp., Inc., Philadelphia Arena, Inc., Syracuse Professional Basketball Club, Inc., Milwaukee Hawks, Inc., Cincinnati Royals Basketball Club, Inc., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

190 F. Supp. 241

Jacob L. MOLINAS, Plaintiff, v. NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION, Maurice Podoloff, Boston Celtics Basketball Club, Inc., Zollner Machine Works, Inc., Minneapolis Basketball, Inc., Madison Square Garden Corp., Inc., Philadelphia Arena, Inc., Syracuse Professional Basketball Club, Inc., Milwaukee Hawks, Inc., Cincinnati Royals Basketball Club, Inc., Defendants.

United States District Court S. D. New York.

January 11, 1961.

Joel H. Weinberg, New York City, for plaintiff; Abraham L. Shapiro, New York City, of counsel.

Colton, Gallantz & Fernbach, New York City, for defendants, The Nat. Basketball Assn. and Maurice Podoloff. George G. Gallantz and Stuart D. Wechsler, New York City, of counsel.

IRVING R. KAUFMAN, District Judge.

Plaintiff, Jack Molinas, is a well-known basketball player. In 1953, upon his graduation from Columbia University he was "drafted" by the Fort Wayne Pistons, then a member of the defendant National Basketball Association (now the Detroit Pistons). Subsequently, in the fall of 1953, he signed a contract to play with the Pistons. In January of 1954, however, he admitted, in writing, that he placed several bets on his team, the Pistons, to win. The procedure he followed was that he contacted a person in New York by telephone, who informed him of the "point spread" on the particular game in question. The plaintiff would then decide whether or not to place a bet on the game. The plaintiff admitted that he received some $400 as a result of these wagers, including reimbursement of his telephone calls to New York. After the plaintiff admitted this wagering, Mr. Podoloff, the president of the league, acting pursuant to a clause (Section 15) in plaintiff's contract and a league rule (Section 79 of the League Constitution) prohibiting gambling, indefinitely suspended the plaintiff from the league. This suspension has continued until the present date. Since the suspension, plaintiff has made several applications, both oral and written for reinstatement. All of these have been refused, and Mr. Podoloff has testified that he will never allow the plaintiff to re-enter the league. He has characterized the plaintiff as a "cancer on the league" which must be excised.

In the meantime, plaintiff attended and graduated from the Brooklyn Law School, and was then admitted to the New York State Bar. He has also been playing basketball for Williamsport and Hazelton of the Eastern Basketball League.

In 1954, shortly after the suspension, plaintiff brought an action in the New York State Supreme Court, alleging that he had been denied notice and hearing prior to the suspension, and that there was no authority for the indefinite suspension imposed by Mr. Podoloff. The court, after a trial, found against the plaintiff, holding that since he had engaged in reprehensible and morally dishonest conduct, he was not entitled to seek the aid of an equity court. The court also found that even if a hearing was required by league rules, it would have been a futile formality in this case, since the plaintiff had admitted violations of his contract and the league rules. An appeal was taken to the Appellate Division but was subsequently dismissed.

In the action presently before the court, the plaintiff alleges that the defendant National Basketball Association has entered into a conspiracy with its member teams and others in restraint of trade, and thus has violated the antitrust laws. It is alleged that the operation of the so-called reserve clause, by which players are allocated among the league teams, and through which a team holding a player's contract is given an option to renew it each year, is an unreasonable restraint of trade in violation of the anti-trust laws. It is further alleged that the suspension of the plaintiff by the league, and its subsequent refusal to reinstate him, is the result of a conspiracy in violation of these laws. Finally, plaintiff charges that the league has, through this conspiracy, imposed certain collateral restraints upon him, affecting his opportunities to play in "exhibition games" against league personnel.

Plaintiff seeks treble damages in the sum of three million dollars, an injunction against the conspiracies alleged, and reinstatement to the league.

It is well established that the plaintiff has the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that there has been a violation of the anti-trust laws which has injured him. This burden clearly has not been met in the instant case. Plaintiff has not established any violation of the anti-trust laws which has in any way injured him, and thus his complaint must be dismissed.

The law is clear that, in order for a private plaintiff in a civil anti-trust suit to recover, he must establish a clear causal connection between the violation alleged and the injuries allegedly suffered. See, e. g. Royster Drive-In Theatres, Inc. v. American Broadcasting Paramount Theatres, Inc., 2 Cir., 1959, 268 F.2d 246, certiorari denied 361 U.S. 885, 80 S.Ct. 156, 4 L.Ed.2d 121; Tepler v. Frick, 2 Cir., 1953, 204 F.2d 506; E. V. Prentice Machinery Co. v. Associated Plywood Mills, Inc., 9 Cir., 1958, 252 F.2d 473, certiorari denied 356 U.S. 951, 78 S.Ct. 917, 2 L.Ed.2d 844. With respect to the plaintiff's contention based on the so-called reserve clause, no causal connection whatsoever has been established between the reserve clause and any damage which he may have sustained. Plaintiff has not shown that he suffered any damage at the time he signed his contract with the Fort Wayne Pistons, in the fall of 1953, following the so-called college draft. It does not appear that Molinas was in any way displeased over playing for the Pistons, and were it not for his suspension in January of 1954...