CHICAGO — They were the champions. And then they weren’t. But they’ve kept on fighting and could yet claim the trophy, a state appeals panel has ruled.
The 2014 Jackie Robinson West squad that won the U.S. Little League World Series before being stripped of the title six months later have renewed hope of seeing their championship reinstated following a June 30 Illinois First District Appellate Court ruling.
Little League International based its February 2015 decision on allegations the team used players who were ineligible because they lived outside JRW’s border. The next year, the players’ parents sued the team organization and its married president and treasurer, as well as Little League, the Evergreen Park Athletic Association and sports cable television network ESPN and one of ESPN sports pundit Stephen A. Smith.
After a protracted legal battle, Cook County Judge John Ehrlich dismissed with prejudice all counts the parents filed on their own behalf and several filed on behalf of the children. The remaining counts involving the children were severed from the dismissed action and remain pending. The parents filed a so-called interlocutory appeal, in which they asked the appeals court to rule on the question of whether Judge Ehrlich had improperly walled them off from ever having the 2014 title reinstated.
The appellate question drew response briefs from all the plaintiffs, who argued "specific performance in the form of reinstatement is the only remedy that would make them whole again."
Justice Terrence Lavin wrote the panel’s opinion, explaining reinstatement of the championship remains a viable remedy to the allegations of breach of implied contract and promissory estoppel, a term that implies a promise that is enforceable by law. Justices Aurelia Pucinski and Mary Ellen Coghlan concurred.
Plaintiff Darold Butler, a coach on the tournament team, submitted a “residency binder” to Little League through Central Region Tournament Director Scott Spillman. This included the JRW boundaries, birth certificates and proof of residency for each player. None of the parties disputed the information. However, a month after the Little League World Series concluded, a rival coach complained that two of the players’ homes were outside the JRW boundaries.
In their lawsuit, the parents alleged Little League was, at the time, “aware of the potential residency issues … but chose to ignore and/or deliberately conceal these facts in order to garner higher ratings, publicity and money.”
During the appeals process, Lavin wrote, Little League didn’t dispute reinstatement as a possible remedy, but did argue the parents weren't the ones legally allowed to bring the lawsuit, because they are not the corporate entity of Jackie Robinson West Inc. The panel rejected that argument, saying Little League committed a “distinct, palpable and fairly traceable” breach of its implied contract with the team and players who won the tournament.
“The players alleged that Little League failed to follow its own rules and regulations, and it was this breach of the implied contract that led the parents/players to forfeit their paid dues, time and the ultimate 2014 tournament title,” Lavin wrote. “Specifically, Little League failed to abide by its rules and regulations when it did not identify eligibility protests before the World Series or submit the matter to the tournament committee.”
Turning to the defamation allegations, which center on a Feb. 11, 2015, broadcast. In that ESPN broadcase, Smith “offered various strongly-stated, emphatic and sometimes bombastic personal views,” according to Lavin. While the panel noted the ways Smith was critical of Butler and the other parents, it said “no ordinary viewer would believe Smith” accused them of committing crimes, a standard required to sustain the defamation claim. Further, Smith never named individual parents nor did he identify Butler as anything other than the team’s coach.
“This was his spin and his take on the news of the day,” Lavin wrote. “In that sense, his commentary could also be characterized as supportable interpretation of the events. Overall Smith’s language, viewed in context, trends more towards nonactionable opinion than accurate and verifiable fact.”
The panel likewise said the complaint didn’t sufficiently allege intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress, false light invasion of privacy or civil conspiracy on the part of any of the defendants.
By holding up title reinstatement as possible, the panel reversed Ehrlich’s opinion and said its “ruling should be taken into consideration” as the complaint on behalf of the players proceeds at trial.
Little League is represented by the firm of Morgan Lewis & Bockius, of Chicago.
ESPN and Smith are represented in the action by attorneys with the firms of Bryan Cave LLP, of Chicago, and Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz, of Washington, D.C.
The JRW plaintiffs are represented by the firm of Barney & Karamanis, of Chicago.