Weil secured a dismissal of all claims brought against the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) and MLB Players, Inc. (MLBPI) in a high-profile nationwide putative antitrust class action concerning the professional sports trading card industry. Weil has now won dismissal of both indirect and direct purchaser class actions for MLBPA and MLBPI challenging conduct in the market for MLB, NBA, and NFL sports player trading cards.

On September 29, 2026, Chief U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain of the Southern District of New York dismissed Jones v. Fanatics, Inc. in its entirety. Plaintiffs, purported indirect purchasers of trading cards, alleged that Fanatics engaged in anticompetitive conduct in the professional sports trading card market, including through long-term exclusive licensing agreements with the major professional sports leagues and their players’ associations. In a significant win for the MLBPA and MLBPI, the court found that plaintiffs failed to show they had been harmed by the challenged conduct and dismissed the case for lack of standing.

The Jones decision follows Weil’s earlier dismissal in Scaturo v. Fanatics, Inc., a similar case brought by direct purchasers challenging Fanatics’ licensing arrangements with the major sports leagues and players’ associations. In March 2026, Judge Swain dismissed that action for lack of standing, finding that plaintiffs failed to show they had purchased cards at inflated prices attributable to the challenged conduct. Plaintiffs ultimately dismissed that action in June 2026 without repleading.

Together, the Jones and Scaturo decisions represent important back-to-back wins for the MLBPA and MLBPI in significant antitrust litigation challenging the professional sports trading card industry and the licensing arrangements that underpin it.

The Weil team representing the Major League Baseball Players Association and MLB Players, Inc. was led by Complex Commercial Litigation partner Yehudah Buchweitz and included Antitrust partner Meagan Bellshaw, counsel Joseph Rausch, and associate Naz Akyol.