Gustafson Gluek Recognized by the American Antitrust Institute for Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement in Private Law Practice

Gustafson Gluek PLLC and its co-counsel in Moultrie v. National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) are honored to be recognized by the American Antitrust Institute as an Honoree in the category of Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement in Private Law Practice.

The Moultrie v. NWSL litigation team successfully and very expeditiously obtained relief for their client, soccer phenom Olivia Moultrie, while also advancing the use of antitrust law to further the interests of workers’ rights and equity. On May 4, 2021, the team filed a complaint and motion for temporary restraining order (TRO) challenging the NWSL’s Age Rule, which prohibited women under the age of 18 from competing to play professional soccer in the United States.

The complaint alleged that the individual teams and the NWSL violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act by agreeing to exclude competitors from the labor market for women’s professional soccer, thereby reducing competition in that market without a sufficient pro-competitive justification (there was also no comparable rule for men). The motion for TRO argued the need for speed because a soccer player’s career is short and the delay in the Plaintiff’s ability to compete at a professional level represents years of opportunity that she cannot recoup and will likely impede her further career development. The TRO was granted on May 24, 2021, a preliminary injunction was granted weeks later, and by late July 2021, the parties reached a settlement whereby Ms. Moultrie was permitted to play in the NWSL, becoming the youngest player in NWSL history.

The case continued to advance the notion that labor markets are worthy of antitrust protections.  It also speaks to the labor exemption as a narrow rule that enables workers to act as a collective bargaining unit to agree to rules or restrictions.  It rejects the notion that companies may employ the labor exemption to impose rules or restrictions on their workers without the workers’ agreement and consent. 

The case also demonstrates how antitrust claims can be leveraged to address issues of inequity or social justice. The Trial Court was troubled by the fact that this Age Rule existed for women players but did not exist for men.

Michelle Looby and Dennis Stewart led the case for Gustafson Gluek, alongside their co-counsel Leonard Simon and Miller Nash LLP's Joshua Sasaki, Max Forer, Bruce Campbell, Eric Mills, and Erica Clausen.