NBA: SCOTUS Review of Video Privacy Case is 'Excellent Vehicle' for Settling Circuit Split
The U.S. Supreme Court affords the best way of resolving a circuit split concerning the scope of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), the NBA said Wednesday in a reply to plaintiff Michael Salazar, who opposed the league's request for the high court to review a 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision.
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The appeals court's ruling unfairly expanded the scope of the VPPA, the NBA said. It requested a SCOTUS review in March (see 2503190047). The 7th Circuit joined the 2nd Circuit in taking a broader view of the VPPA, ruling that to be a "consumer" under the statute, a user had to have a subscription to some aspect of the website, not just the video services (see 2503310018). The 6th Circuit adopted a narrower interpretation, deciding that the VPPA only applies to "consumers" of video tapes or similar audio visual materials (see 2504030064).
The Supreme Court "regularly" reviews cases when "a court of appeals reverses a district court’s dismissal order," the NBA's brief said.
Additionally, the NBA opposed Salazar's claims that he would win the case under the correct legal standard based on allegations added to his complaint on remand. That claim lacks merit, the NBA said.
Since the basketball league requested a SCOTUS review, the NFL, along with ad and retail groups, have supported the NBA's position with amicus briefs (see 2505020048).
The circuit split on the scope of the VPPA has led some privacy lawyers to expect a Supreme Court review is likely, while others caution this may not be the high court's largest privacy focus (see 2504150047).