A federal magistrate judge has sided with the New York Giants and several individual defendants, including quarterback Eli Manning, denying a memorabilia collector’s motion to remand a lawsuit, in which he alleged fraud and other improprieties, back to state court.
Plaintiff Eric Inselberg claims the defendants lied to him when they sold him “game-worn merchandise.” He also alleged that the Giants inappropriately used patented intellectual property invented by Inselberg relating to technology for wireless audience interaction at football games. The latter claim is what torpedoed the plaintiff’s motion to remand since patent claims “are exclusively federal, and can only be brought in federal court,” wrote the magistrate judge.
Inselberg, a self-described inventor and sports memorabilia dealer, was the subject of a government investigation — along with the Giants, Manning, John K. Mara (the President, CEO, and co-owner of the Giants), William J. Heller, Esq. (Giants General Counsel), and others — that was initiated in 2006 by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.
Inselberg was eventually indicted in Illinois for mail fraud, specifically finding that he had “misrepresented unused jerseys as game-worn or game used in order to obtain higher prices for the merchandise.” Inselberg says the indictment was the result of Giants employees giving false testimony. The indictment against Inselberg was dismissed on May 2, 2013, at the request of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
On January 29, 2014, the plaintiff filed a 16-count Complaint in New Jersey Superior Court, arguing that the false testimony led to his indictment and ruined him personally and financially. Inselberg also alleged that the defendants were involved in game-used memorabilia fraud, which ultimately damaged his reputation and business.
The plaintiff’s complaint asserted the following 16 causes of action, all under state law: (1) New Jersey’s Civil Racketeering Statute, N.J.S.A. 2C:41-1, et seq.; (2) Tortious Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage; (3) Tortious Interference with Contractual Relations; (4) Malicious Prosecution; (5) Abuse of Process; (6) Trade Libel; (7) Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress; (8) Unjust Enrichment; (9) Quantum Meruit; (10) Unfair Competition — Idea Misappropriation; (11) Breach of Contract; (12) Civil Conspiracy; (13) Aiding & Abetting; (14) Negligent Supervision; (15) Negligent Retention; and (16) Respondeat Superior.
While the aforementioned sports memorabilia investigation was ongoing, Inselberg was also trying to convince the Giants to use his wireless technology. Ultimately, he claimed the defendants wrongly “misappropriated” and “used” his “wireless patented marketing concepts and ‘integrated’ them into the Giants’ wireless platforms.”
Given the patent claims, the defendants successfully had the claim removed to federal court.
On appeal, the plaintiff argued that the patent claims should be covered under New Jersey state law. But the court was unpersuaded.
“The plaintiff’s purported state law ‘patented concepts’ claims are really patent claims, no matter what they are called,” wrote the court. “Patent claims are quintessentially federal, creating model federal jurisdiction. But not only are patent claims federal, they are exclusively federal, and can only be brought in federal court. In patent matters, Congress has so completely preempted the field that any attempt to disguise them as state law claims cannot defeat federal jurisdiction. Thus, the motion to remand should be denied.”
Eric Inselberg v. New York Football Giants, INC., et al.; D.N.J.; Civil Action No.: 14-1317 (WJM), 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82613; 6/18/14
Attorneys of Record: (for plaintiff) Brian C. Brook, Lead Attorney, Clinton Brook & Peed, New York, NY; Michael S. Kasanoff, Lead Attorney, Red Bank, NJ. (for defendants) William J. O’Shaughnessy, Lead Attorney, Richard Hernandez, William T. Reilly, McCarter & English, LLP, Newark, NJ; Desiree Leigh Grace, McCarter & English, Newark, NJ. Dennis J. Drasco, Lead Attorney, Lum, Drasco & Positan, LLC, Roseland, NJ; Kevin J. O’Connor, Lum, Drasco & Positan LLC., Roseland, NJ; Wayne John Positan, Lum, Danzis, Drasco & Positan, LLC, Roseland, NJ.Gerald Krovatin, Lead Attorney, Krovatin Klingeman LLC, Newark, NJ. Israel Dahan, Lead Attorney, Cadwalder Wickersham & Taft LLP, New York, NY.
