Sports In the Courts Blog : New York Attorneys & Lawyers Specializing in Sports Law & Legal Analysis

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In the NYC metropolitan area, Cablevision (a major TV provider) and Fox are in the midst of a contract dispute that has caused Fox to pull its programming from about 3 million Cablevision subscribers. In the interest of full disclosure, you should know that I serve as the legal analyst for MSG Network which is owned by Cablevision. As such, I will not comment on Cablevision’s role here and invite you to read other commentator’s views on the company.

So let’s just deal with Fox for the moment. Fox is about to blackout the Packers/Jets game on Sunday and has not permitted the World Series to be viewed in millions of homes in the tri-state area.

Can you imagine not being able to watch your favorite NFL team or being denied the World Series? For a causal fan it may not be a big deal but for the rabid Jets fan or baseball fan, this is an unwelcomed shock. But could it be a lawsuit? Hmmmm.

I have racked my legal mind and have come up with a bit of a stretch for a cause of action. New York Law recognizes the tort of Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress (“NIED”). To prevail on a NIED claim a plaintiff must prove (among other things) that the injured sports viewer suffered “extreme and outrageous conduct” by the defendant and suffered “severe emotional distress.” As for “outrageous conduct,” what could be more extreme for a fan of the Jets or World Series than to have their American right of sports viewership brutally taken from you without any real recourse. What could be worse than a brand new HDTV, a bag of chips and no sports to watch? Maybe this horror may (stress may) satisfy the first prong.

As for the second prong, “severe emotional distress” this requires proof of “serious mental distress.” The easiest way to show this damage is by professional treatment for depression or a mental illness. So given this fact, you might want to see a shrink to vent about how outrageously angry you are that your beloved NFL team or World Series glory has been snatched away.

This isn’t the greatest lawsuit and it’s probably a loser but as usual in these programming disputes, so are the fans.