If your idea of a fun Friday is pouring over motions in various lawsuits in the United States soccer universe, then May 11th is lining up as the best day ever. Assuming the parties comply with the scheduling orders/agreements, we’ll have no less than three motions set for release tomorrow. A brief preview:

NASL V. USSF (ANTI-TRUST):

When NASL filed their complaint in September 2017, they immediately filed for a preliminary injunction. The parties thus agreed to put on hold USSF’s response to the complaint until after that issue was resolved. That…took longer than anyone thought, with the appeal not being decided until February 2018. The parties then stipulated to a scheduling order which required USSF/MLS to respond to the Amended complaint by April 20. That date was further delayed to May 11th.

That response is likely to take the form of a motion to dismiss, as outlined in a letter submitted to the judge last October (2017). The actual motion should be…much longer.

NASL v. USSF (NY):

Tomorrow, we should get a copy of the NASL response to the USSF motion to dismiss, which was filed on March 28. That motion was in two parts, as both Don Garber and the members of the US Soccer Board who were sued filed to dismiss the allegations (which you can review in the previous link). As you can see above, the reply is due June 1, and then the case is set to be argued on June 4.

SAVETHECREW V. COLUMBUS CREW/MLS:

Notwithstanding all of the action that is happening in this case, there is one more procedural loose end to clear up for the time being. The defendants have asked to put on hold responding to the motions to compel discovery and toll the six-month notice hearings (mainly because the judge has basically ruled on those issues). However, the motion to dismiss still requires a reply from the defendants to the response filed by the plaintiffs. This will complete the briefing in this matter (unless someone attempts to file a sur-reply, and let’s not go there), and we’ll really be able to dig in and analyze each parties’ odds of success on this motion.

So there is you case update. Prepare for an interesting day.