AFAIK, they're seeking a declaration of the lockout to be illegal along with asking for damages. Obviously, even if the court side with them, it would likely request a conciliatory meeting or a full blown court-ordered settlement, at which point owners should budge.
That's the theory anyways.
As it stands now Stern can fine teams that talk to players etc. After such a ruling he cannot do that anymore. If the crazy Slav wants to buy him some players there isn't Stern can do about it or he would more than likely risk jail time. Violating court orders is frowned upon by the bench.
http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakers...-lawsuits.html
NBA lockout: Three things to note about consolidating lawsuits
November 22, 2011 | 11:12 am
--Mark Medina
1. Players consolidated lawsuits in hopes of expediting the case. After filing two an rust lawsuits last week, in Northern California and Minnesota, NBA players amended the case Tuesday in Minnesota. This prompted NBA attorney Rick Buchanan to suggest players' attorney David Boies was simply "shopping for a forum that he can only hope will be friendlier to his baseless legal claims." But Boies told reporters in New York the move would help speed up the case since the NBA now has to respond to the filing by Dec. 5. In the previous suit, the first hearing would take place in December, 2012.
2. A deal needs to be made by Friday to avoid Christmas game cancellations. The NBA has formally canceled games only through Dec. 15. But by David Stern's insistence that the league needs at least a month to prepare with a training camp and free agency period, both sides would need to reach a deal by Friday to secure games by Christmas.
3. Why isn't anyone picking up the phone? In perhaps the lowest point in the current work stoppage, neither the owners nor players have formally talked to each other since the union's disbandment last week. Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski first reported on the league's insistence that it won't reach out to the players' so-called trade association until Dec. 1, in hopes that it will further break their resolve. In turn, Sheridan Hoops' Chris Sheridan detailed an extensive rundown with his conversation with Boies on why he remains adamant about not calling the league himself. It's possible a phone call will take place, but all this hand-wringing over such a nonissue shows how pathetic both sides are acting 144 days into the lockout.
Bless you, but I don't see a season this year in any way. Both sides are digging in.
Chris_Broussard Chris Broussard
Source confirms this: RT @darrenrovell: NBA union tells players in memo they'll each get an additional $58K from nba b/c of a "shortfall."
From that piece:
One of the obstacles in the who-calls-whom-first dilemma has been that Hunter, no longer the bargaining agent for the players, faces potential legal entanglements if he is the one to initiate negotiations directly with Stern. If a settlement can't be reached in the next few days, league attorneys will proceed full steam with their defense of the players' lawsuit -- which includes ramping up their argument in the league-initiated case in New York that the players' disclaimer was a "sham," or negotiating tactic. Hunter picking up the phone and calling Stern, some attorneys believe, would bolster the NBA's legal argument.
Exactly what I was pointing out earlier.
I think what's going to happen is barring any surprise off-the-record talks, Boies will hear from the NBA on Dec 5 when they have to get together for the Minnesota lawsuit. I believe that would be the initiation of any possible settlement deal.
http://twitter.com/#!/WojYahooNBA
NBA and players resumed talks on Tuesday to try and end the lockout before the cancellation of Christmas games, two sources told Y! Sports.
Talks were expected to continue today, sources said, and one league source tells Y!: "We should know more by later this evening."
Not getting my hopes up, but at least they are freaking talking to each other.
HowardBeckNYT Howard Beck
Talks proceeding as "settlement" talks bc of pending litigation. Attorneys are in the lead. New CBA can't be adopted until union re-forms
10 minutes ago
WojYahooNBA Adrian Wojnarowski
Derek Fisher isn't a part of the talks now, sources say.
1 hour ago
I think the Christmas games incentive is quite big. An opening day on Christmas with 15 NBA games including 3 or 4 nationally televised games is a great way to bring back fans to the NBA.
I really do appreciate your capacity for hope. Hopefully it can rub off on the rest of us here.
I'm not expecting anything to happen until the new year.
Bruno, you are dead on right. I hope they have the sense to realize this.
Fool me once...
i feel like i have run from new york to san antonio following this ty lockout. hopefully they get it done man.
ESPNSteinLine Marc Stein
NBA labor latest: Sources say Stern privately surveying some owners to gauge willingness to making full midlevel exception open to all teams
Can't believe I'm still following this crap, knowing full well this is about to happen to us...
As long as the full midlevel drops to $3M with a 3 year max, this won't be so bad.
Obviously the players really really want this. That MLE has been a gold mine for mediocre players for years.
WojYahooNBA Adrian Wojnarowski
Fisher hasn't given indication if he will attend Friday meeting, perhaps out of concern for how his inclusion could affect players legally.
2 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply
WojYahooNBA Adrian Wojnarowski
Two sides will meet again on Friday in New York, with Hunter and NBA wanting Fisher to join settlement talks, league sources tell Y!
5 minutes ago
Looks like Friday will be a big negotiation day.
If the NBA agreed to the full MLE for luxury tax teams, a huge step will be made towards the end of the lockout. The last big item to solved will be the amount of luxury tax paid by teams over the threshold.
If both Stern and Hunter wants to have Fisher back at the negotiation table, it should be doable. Both sides can fill a do ent saying that Fisher presence in these negotiations can't and won't be used during future trials.
Since day one there has never been anything else.
I still don't buy it. There have been many "big" negotiation days that resulted in nothing.
It's smart not to "buy" anything until they announce that it's done, but there WILL be basketball again at some point. When that point is is the only question. It could be this, it could be the next thing, it could come down to the wire in early January like 99, or it could be next year, but there will be basketball again.
There is a great old song that goes "It's now or never."
i think thats it. the owners wouldnt give more. these guys are really reluctant to do anything. the power of stern will be put to the test friday. can he deliver? unless the owners decide to do a counter with give backs albeing minor from both, reduce the draconian tax and up the semi tax mle to 3.4 or 4 million or 3.5 with an increased year.
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