Search for: About. Skip to content. For further information on our practice and accomplishments on behalf of our clients, please visit www.saverilawfirm.com. “When we think of competitive cheer, we think of healthy, fun activities that benefit our children’s lives. Varsity Brands GC Burton Brillhart isn’t afraid to go to trial. Corrado Rizzi is the Managing Editor and a writer for ClassAction.org. Enter Varsity Brands, a for-profit business headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, with offices in Florida, California and Dallas, which saw an opportunity and now is … In the suit, Jones, et al. Tax Planning; Personal Finance; Save for College; Save for Retirement; Invest in Retirement This browser does not support PDFs. Fusion Elite alleges that Varsity and USASF engaged in a scheme to monopolize the markets for competitive All-Star cheerleading and apparel. 1 Varsity Brands is the parent company of Varsity Spirit and Varsity Fashion. Varsity Brands, Inc. has reached an agreement to settle two purported class action lawsuits that were filed in Delaware and Tennessee against the company, its board of directors and Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. those with the top cheerleaders and teams, to buy apparel exclusively from the defendants and to fill the limited number of events in each competition season solely with Varsity’s All-Star competitions. It bought Jam Brands in 2015, Spirit Celebrations in 2016/2017, and Epic Brands in 2018. Tax Planning; Personal Finance; Save for College; Save for Retirement; Invest in Retirement Earlier this year, we covered the lawsuit filed by Fusion Elite Allstars along with three law firms. The lawsuits challenged the proposed merger pursuant to which the company is to be acquired by a wholly-owned subsidiary of an affiliate of Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. and members … The 49-page lawsuit alleges the defendants—Varsity Brands, Varsity Spirit, Varsity Fashion & Supplies and U.S. All Star Federation, Inc.—have come to dominate the market for All-Star cheerleading through a continued and systematic series of acquisitions and other anticompetitive conduct. New to ClassAction.org? As a result, cheer athletes, together with their parents, friends, and families, have been overcharged by the defendants, who have obtained millions of dollars in supracompetitive illegal profits. Echoing the complaint detailed on this page, the 60-page lawsuit out of Pennsylvania federal court claims the defendants have over the last 15 years come to gain and maintain monopoly control over “every aspect” of All-Star competitive cheerleading—a “notoriously expensive sport”—by systematically buying up actual and potential rivals, weaponizing exclusionary contract terms, and utilizing their market leverage to relegate would-be challengers to “B-league status.”, “Varsity has used its dominant market power in the Relevant Markets to substantially foreclose competition in both markets and thereby maintain and enhance its dominance in both markets,” the lawsuit summarizes. December 11, 2020. image: Cheerleader mag. A settlement has been reached and is pending court approval in two class action lawsuits filed against Varsity Brands, Inc., its board of directors and Leonard Green & Partners, LP. At least three federal antitrust lawsuits argue Varsity acts as a monopoly that inflates prices for everyone involved in cheerleading. Varsity Brands, Inc (2017), decided after 8 months of deliberation in the U.S. Supreme Court, examined a lawsuit brought forth by Varsity Brands when Star Athletica began to produce cheerleading uniforms with chevrons, zigzags, and other aesthetic elements similar in design to those produced by Varsity Brands, but at a far lower price. The result: A multimillion-dollar verdict for Varsity Brands. The Joseph Saveri Law Firm is one of the country’s most acclaimed, successful boutique firms, specializing in antitrust, class actions, and complex litigation on behalf of national and international consumers, purchasers, and employees across diverse industries. The suits were filed regarding the proposed merger between the company and a subsidiary of an affiliate of Leonard Green & Partners, LP. The lawsuit says Varsity Brands’ annual revenues exceed $1.35 billion with more than 4,000 full-time employees. The new antitrust case, filed July 10 in Pennsylvania, alleges Varsity Brands, Varsity Spirit, Varsity Spirit Fashion & Supplies and U.S. All Star Federation, Inc. have over the last 15 years artificially inflated prices for apparel and entry into all-star cheerleading events through a competition-suppressing series of “intentional and methodical business maneuvers.”. From the complaint: The lawsuit looks to represent individuals and entities in the U.S. who directly paid Varsity Brands or any wholly or partially owned subsidiary for registration, entrance, or other fees and expenses for participation by an All-Star team or cheerleader in one of the defendants’ competitions, or for apparel from March 26, 2016 through until the time the “exclusionary scheme” alleged in the complaint ends. The lawsuit, Fusion Elite All Stars v. Varsity Brands, et al., was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division, where plaintiff Fusion Elite is located. The Varsity Brands class action lawsuit states that Varsity has controlled approximately 90 percent of the all-star competition market and 80 percent of the all-star apparel market. They sued the two organizations for monopolizing the cheerleading industry. This is the story of the case, which heads back to court … Varsity Brands, Inc., 580 U.S. ___ (2017), was a Supreme Court of the United States case in which the Court decided under what circumstances aesthetic elements of "useful articles" can be restricted by copyright law. v. Varsity Brands, et al., plaintiff cheer parents allege the defendants and their co-conspirators have abused Varsity’s market power to raise, fix, and stabilize the prices charged associated with competitive cheer. Varsity also used its control of the rules of the sport to extend its control, by running as a shadow proxy the sport’s governing body, USASF. In other words, the aesthetic elements must be … In July they were faced with another lawsuit. All-Star Cheer, as defined by the USA Federation for Sport Cheering, is a discipline involving two-and-a-half minute routines comprised of tumbling, stunting pyramids and dance, the lawsuit says. Varsity Brands and the USASF are hit with a second lawsuit. Yesterday, three class action law firms (Berger Montague, Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, and Justice Catalyst Law) filed an antitrust case against Varsity Brands, alleging that Varsity and the United States All Star Federation monopolized cheerleading competitions and cheerleading apparel, driving up the price of the sport and controlling the independent gyms who train cheerleaders. According to the complaint, in acquiring and maintaining monopoly power over the All-Star cheer competition and apparel markets, the defendants, through an alleged “exclusionary scheme,” have sought to: With regard to the “exclusionary agreements” wielded by the defendants—dubbed the “Network Agreement” and “Family Plan”—the lawsuit claims Varsity has required the largest All-Star gyms, i.e. 800.551.8649. Please download the PDF to view it: Download PDF. Varsity Brands, LLC Varsity Spirit, LLC Varsity Spirit Fashion & Supplies, LLC U.S. All Star Federation, Inc. Less than a week after voluntarily dropping its first lawsuit, California’s Fusion Elite All Stars, along with a Florida-based Fuel Athletics, has filed a new proposed class action alleging Varsity Brands and the U.S. All Star Federation have gained and maintained an illegal monopoly over the all-star cheerleading industry. 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