By Jeff Birren
On December 25, 2015, Sports Litigation Alert reported on a California Court of Appeal’s decision in Todd McNair v. NCAA, “Who Guards The Guardians?” The opinion was unpublished and thus cannot be cited. After the opinion was issued, the court received a request to have the opinion published. The Court of Appeal did not agree. It wrote to the California State Supreme Court that they had reexamined and reconsidered the issue of publication, but still disagreed as the case “presents no issues that have not already been addressed in previous published opinions.” (McNair v, NCAA California Court of Appeal No. B245475, January 5, 2015 Docket Entry).
The NCAA had something far more pressing on its mind as it tried to avoid the consequences of the Court of Appeal opinion that largely overruled its anti-SLAPP motion. It therefore filed a petition for review in the California Supreme Court on January 20, 2016 (McNair v. NCAA, California Supreme Court No. S231732 Docket Entry). Mr. McNair did not file an brief opposing the petition for review. On March 16, 2016, the California Supreme Court denied both the request for an order directing publication and the petition for review. The case will now wind its way back to the Superior Court.
