Latest news with #Wilken
Eyewitness News
20-06-2025
- Eyewitness News
Child pornography accused couple due in court
Jabulile Mbatha 20 June 2025 | 6:31 Darryn Wilken Child pornography Randburg Magistrates Court Darren Wilken and his girlfriend, Tiona Megan Moodley, who are accused of running a child pornography distribution ring, appeared at the Randburg Magistrate's Court. Picture: Katlego Jiyane/EWN JOHANNESBURG - A couple accused of operating a global child pornography network will be back in the Randburg Magistrates Court on Friday. Darryn Wilken and his girlfriend Megan Moodley were arrested in January this year after being tracked down by the FBI in a global investigation. Police discovered that the operation was taking place at Wilken's apartment in Midrand, Johannesburg. At their previous court appearance, the matter was postponed to allow police to go through several hundred hours of pornographic footage discovered at Wilken's property. Police also found a luxury vehicle, R600,000 in cash and high-end electronic equipment Wilken's accomplice, Moodley, has been charged with manufacturing and distributing child pornography and money laundering. Since their arrest, the couple has been in police custody after being denied bail. The court previously heard how the pair made millions through their distribution of child pornography worldwide.
Business Wire
11-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Hagens Berman Responds to Appeals to NCAA College Athlete Name, Image and Likeness Settlement
OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Following the federal court's final approval to a historic $20 billion plus settlement with the NCAA allowing payments and benefits to college athletes for the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL), Hagens Berman responded to the first appeal. 'If these lawyers believe that a Title IX case will succeed, they should bring it and not hijack payments to college athletes that could be lifechanging.' To address questions from NCAA athletes about the impact of the appeal, Hagens Berman issued the following statement: 'Attorneys John Clune and Ashlyn Hare of Hutchinson Black and Cook LLC and Rebecca Peterson-Fisher of Katz Banks Kumin LLP have filed a notice of their intent to appeal the historic NCAA settlement approved June 6, 2025, by Judge Claudia Wilken. 'This appeal will block payments to hundreds of thousands of athletes, delaying payments by a minimum of several months to potentially a year or more. These attorneys are pursuing an appeal based on a Title IX issue that Judge Wilken already disposed of correctly, quickly and multiple times. 'Judge Wilken noted that these attorneys cited 'no authority that Title IX applies to damages awards distributions or that damages distributions made by a claims administrator are subject to Title IX.'' 'This is an antitrust case about competition, it is not a Title IX case, and now hundreds of thousands of athletes will have to wait to recover for past wrongs that were addressed in this lawsuit in order for these attorneys to take on this unrelated issue,' added Hagens Berman co-founder and managing partner, Steve Berman, who serves as court-appointed co-lead counsel. 'If these lawyers believe that a Title IX case will succeed, they should bring it and not hijack payments to college athletes that could be lifechanging.' Straight from the Bench In Judge Wilken's June 6, 2025, opinion on the order granting final approval to the settlement, the court clearly states that it overrules objections, noting, 'There is nothing in the SA [settlement agreement] that would prevent or prohibit schools from distributing benefits and compensation pursuant to the Injunctive Relief Settlement in a manner that complies with Title IX.' Berman added, 'Judge Wilken had made that same ruling earlier in the case, theoretically allowing objectors ample time to find authority to back up their objection, and they failed. It's a shame given this utter failure they will be holding up payments to athletes. I say shame on them.' Hagens Berman represents a class of nearly 400,000 college athletes in the lawsuit in which the total value under the new revenue-sharing model is expected to exceed $20 billion over the next 10 years. The settlement resolves three pending antitrust lawsuits, House v. NCAA, Hubbard v. NCAA, and Carter v. NCAA. Class members in the three affected cases may find out more about the claim process by visiting the settlement website at . Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs' rights complex litigation law firm with a tenacious drive for achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. Since its founding in 1993, the firm's determination has earned it numerous national accolades, awards and titles of 'Most Feared Plaintiff's Firm,' MVPs and Trailblazers of class-action law. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Appeal alleging House v. NCAA settlement ‘ignored' Title IX will pause back pay plans
Eight female athletes filed an appeal of the House v. NCAA settlement Wednesday in a California federal court, arguing that the landmark agreement violates Title IX. The appeal only addresses the back damages portion of the settlement, not the portion that establishes the system of direct revenue sharing with athletes. The watershed settlement, approved late Friday night by federal judge Claudia Wilken, has been years in the making. Last October Wilken granted the settlement preliminary approval, then waded through hundreds of objections filed over the ensuing eight months. Many of those objections were related to Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education and requires schools to offer equitable opportunities to women, including in sports. Advertisement Wilken was unmoved by those objections, repeatedly saying the antitrust case had nothing to do with Title IX. But she did leave the door open for future lawsuits based on Title IX targeting how future payments from schools to athletes will be made. The appeal will not impact revenue sharing — slated to start July 1 for all schools that have opted in — but will pause the back-pay damages portion of the settlement. John Clune, the attorney who represents the eight women filing the appeal, said he also filed an objection during the settlement adjudication process but that nothing came of it. 'We felt like we were standing on the table waving our arms that somebody had to address this issue, but none of the parties involved wanted to address it, and the courts didn't want to address it,' Clune told , saying Title IX was 'deliberately ignored.' Advertisement 'This was the only option.' The NCAA and lawyers for the plaintiffs in House v. NCAA did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The eight women represented in the lawsuit are Kacie Breeding Vanderbilt; Lexi Drumm, Emma Appleman, Emmie Wannemacher, Riley Hass, Savannah Baron and Elizabeth Arnold from the College of Charleston; and Kate Johnson from the University of Virginia. The appeal argues that the $2.8 billion in damages set to be distributed to former athletes who couldn't earn NIL (name, image and likeness) money before 2021 violates Title IX because female athletes will be paid less than football and men's basketball players. Advertisement Clune said the settlement suggests 'schools would have paid male athletes over 90 percent of their revenue over the past six years as though Title IX didn't apply. If Nike wants to do that, that is their choice. If the school, or a conference acting on the school's behalf tries to do that, they are violating the law.' 'They can either pay the athletes proportionately, or they can return all of their federal funds,' he said. 'But they can't do both.' Clune said his clients 'support a settlement of the case, just not an inaccurate one that violates federal law. The calculation of damages is based on an error to the tune of $1.1 billion. Paying out the money as proposed would be a massive error … Congress has expressly rejected efforts to prioritize benefits to football and basketball from Title IX's requirements.' Clune said the Title IX implications for future payouts are still to be determined. In the meantime, the appeal process is a 'slow burn,' with a briefing schedule and oral arguments likely to be set in the next nine to 12 months. Advertisement 'It wouldn't surprise me if we see lawsuits against schools for those (rev share) payouts at some point,' he said. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. College Football, Men's College Basketball, Sports Business, Women's College Basketball, College Sports 2025 The Athletic Media Company
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Judge Approves Landmark NCAA Settlement, Paving Way for Revenue Sharing
Judge Approves Landmark NCAA Settlement, Paving Way for Revenue Sharing originally appeared on Athlon Sports. A federal judge on Friday approved a historic settlement that will allow colleges to begin directly paying student-athletes, signaling the most significant shift in the history of college sports and effectively dismantling the amateurism model that defined the NCAA for more than a century. Advertisement U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken, who has long presided over high-profile NCAA cases, gave final approval to the House v. NCAA settlement, nearly five years after Arizona State swimmer Grant House and others filed suit seeking to end restrictions on athlete compensation. Under the agreement, schools can distribute up to $20.5 million annually to athletes, beginning as soon as July 1. Additionally, $2.7 billion will be paid out over 10 years to thousands of former athletes. The ruling completes the transition that began with Wilken's earlier decisions, including her 2014 ruling in favor of Ed O'Bannon, and the NCAA's 2021 decision to allow athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness. The new revenue-sharing model pushes even further, professionalizing college athletics and placing much of the power in the hands of the four major conferences. While athletes in high-revenue sports like football and men's basketball stand to benefit significantly with some reportedly landing NIL deals worth more than $10 million, the settlement could reduce opportunities for walk-ons and Olympic sport athletes. In response, Wilken mandated a process to allow athletes cut during early implementation to be reinstated. Related: Kentucky Basketball Beats Cap Proposal With NIL Power Play Key dates include the June 11 launch of the NIL Go portal, a June 15 opt-in deadline for non-defendant schools, and the start of revenue sharing on July 1. Schools must also comply with new roster limits by their sport's season start or by Dec. 1 for winter and spring sports. Advertisement Related: Michigan Running Back's Groundbreaking NIL Deal Redefines College Football Despite the sweeping changes, legal uncertainty remains. Varying state laws and the absence of a federal NIL framework leave room for future litigation. NCAA President Charlie Baker continues to push for national legislation and antitrust protection to stabilize the rapidly evolving landscape. Still, attorneys behind the settlement argue it delivers what athletes have long deserved, which is a share of the billions their efforts generate from TV deals, merchandise, and championships. As the 2025–26 academic year begins, the college sports model will look unlike anything seen before. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
CNBC
07-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
U.S. judge approves settlement allowing NCAA schools to pay athletes
A U.S. judge on Friday granted final approval to a $2.8 billion settlement with the National Collegiate Athletic Association that will allow schools for the first time to compensate student athletes for past and future commercial use of their names, images and likenesses. The settlement, approved in a ruling by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken in the Oakland, California, federal court, resolves long-running litigation between the NCAA and student athletes. "Despite some compromises, the settlement agreement nevertheless will result in extraordinary relief for members of the settlement classes," Wilken wrote. She said the deal will "permit levels and types of student-athlete compensation that have never been permitted in the history of college sports." The ruling marked a "historic day for college sports and the rights of athletes," the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs, Steve Berman and Jeffrey Kessler, said in a statement. In a statement, NCAA President Charlie Baker welcomed the judge's ruling. "Student-athletes will benefit from the rich opportunities they enjoy now, plus far more scholarship opportunities, landmark financial benefits and a streamlined NCAA to support them," Baker said. The NCAA denied any wrongdoing in agreeing to settle. The deal faced dozens of objections that it didn't adequately compensate athletes or was unfair in other ways. Objectors to the deal now can appeal to the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The settlement, covering hundreds of thousands of current and former students since 2016, resolved three lawsuits that claimed NCAA rules barring payments to athletes violated U.S. antitrust law. The $2.8 billion will cover past damages. The plaintiffs' lawyers previously estimated the deal would provide tens of billions of dollars to class members over the next 10 years. Schools will be allowed to pay athletes from funds that universities receive from broadcasts and other commercial sources. The NCAA in April convinced a federal judge in Manhattan to dismiss a lawsuit seeking compensation for thousands of former student-athletes who played team sports in college prior to 2016. Those students have filed an appeal.
