WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday allowed a soccer promoter’s antitrust lawsuit to go forward against FIFA and the U.S. Soccer Federation over the world governing body’s policy of not permitting a country to host league matches involving teams from other countries.
The high court order leaves in a place a federal appeals court ruling in favor of Relevent Sports, controlled by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross.
Relevent sued in 2019 after FIFA disrupted its plan to host a Spanish league match between Barcelona and Girona at Miami Gardens, Florida, and the USSF refused permission to sanction a league match between two teams from Ecuador.
A district court dismissed the lawsuit, but a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously reinstated it. The Biden administration weighed in on Relevent's side at the Supreme Court.
Relevent and FIFA reached an agreement this month to drop FIFA from the suit, a deal that the USSF wants to review and that has not yet been approved by U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni. FIFA, the USSF and Relevent lawyer Jeffrey L. Kessler did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.
Follow the AP's soccer coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/Soccer.
Barcelona players react as they leave the field at the end of the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
FILE - The FIFA logo at the FIFA headquarter in Zurich, Switzerland, October 29, 2007. The Supreme Court on Monday allowed a soccer promoter’s antitrust lawsuit to go forward against FIFA and the U.S. Soccer Federation over the world governing body’s policy of not permitting a country to host league matches involving teams from other countries. (KEYSTONE/Steffen Schmidt, File)/Keystone via AP)
HONOLULU (AP) — A judge on Friday forced the Hawaii attorney general's office to turn over to lawyers involved in the hundreds of lawsuits over last summer's Maui wildfires all documents, interviews and data collected by the outside team hired to investigate the disaster.
Attorneys representing plaintiffs suing over the August fires filed a motion last month asking a judge to compel the state provide them with the material gathered by the Fire Safety Research Institute, which was hired by the state to investigate.
The state refused, saying disclosing the records would “jeopardize and hinder” the investigation. In court documents opposing the motion, the state called the request “premature, baseless and frivolous,” and asked a judge to order that attorneys fees be paid to the state for defending against the motion.
Soon after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century ripped through the historic town of Lahaina and killed 101 people, Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez announced hiring outside investigators. Last month Lopez and representatives from the Fire Safety Research Institute released a report on the first phase of the investigation, which said the head of the emergency management agency dragged his heels about returning to the island amid the unfolding crisis, while a broad communications breakdown left authorities in the dark and residents without emergency alerts.
During a Friday hearing on the island of Maui, state Deputy Attorney General David Matsumiya told Judge Peter Cahill the state is concerned that releasing information could prompt the six people who haven't been interviewed yet to change their stories.
Cahill balked.
“Do you really believe that's going to be happening?” he asked, clearly upset. “And so what if they change their stories? Aren't they entitled to?”
Cahill seemed to indicate concerns with the investigation, including whether people interviewed were advised that they weren't obligated to answer questions.
“By the way, the taxpayers are paying for this,” the judge continued.
Lopez said last month the investigation contract was initially not to exceed $1.5 million, but because they are behind schedule, the contract was extended. According to an updated contract, the cost increased by $2.5 million, not to exceed a total of $4 million.
The judge's order is of “grave concern,” the attorney general's office said in a statement after the hearing.
“The independent, objective fact-finding process and analysis is critical to determining what county and state agencies must do to ensure that a tragedy like this never happens again,” the statement said. “Premature release of these materials may allow external factors to influence the analysis.”
The attorney general is reviewing options and will soon decide on an appropriate course of action.
Cahill told Matsumiya he understands the state's concerns, but not giving the information to the attorneys would delay litigation. The investigation is important, and it was a wise investment to hire an outside agency given the state lacks a fire marshal, he said, “but it's also important that people have their day in court.”
Cahill noted there are some 400 lawsuits involving thousands of plaintiffs.
“It's frustrating the process of litigation,” Cahill said, “which is also a truth-seeking mechanism.”
David Minkin, an attorney representing Maui County, suggested to the judge that the investigative process was tainted.
Investigators “showed up in Lahaina, said we're here from the AG's office and started talking to people,” without informing them of their rights, he said.
Matsumiya said the state is trying to “protect the integrity of the investigation, which is designed to create a better future for Lahaina, and all of those people in Lahaina."
But Cahill responded that “the past in this case, given what's occurred on this island, needs to be take care of as well,” and that litigation will determine whether there were any legal breaches of duty.
During a separate hearing later Friday to discuss coordination of the lawsuits, Cahill said a handful of lawsuits are scheduled to go to trial in November.
FILE - Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez and members of the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI) hold a press conference on the Maui Wildfire Phase One Report findings on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Honolulu. A judge on Friday, May 3, 2024, forced the Hawaii attorney general's turn over to lawyers involved in the hundreds of lawsuits over last summer's Maui wildfires all documents, interviews and data collected by the outside team hired to investigate the deadly disaster. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia, File)
FILE - The aftermath of a wildfire is visible in Lahaina, Hawaii, Aug. 17, 2023. A judge on Friday, May 3, 2024, forced the Hawaii attorney general's turn over to lawyers involved in the hundreds of lawsuits over last summer's Maui wildfires all documents, interviews and data collected by the outside team hired to investigate the deadly disaster. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
