The continuing case of Hamburg vs. the ATP is not quite done yet — and may not reach a complete resolution until next month.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit has ordered mediation between the ATP and the Hamburg tournament, which was stripped of its Masters Series status and is appealing the loss of its anti-trust lawsuit. The mediation is set for January 12, according to a published report in SportsBusiness Journal written by Daniel Kaplan.
Last August, an eight-member jury in U.S. Federal Court in Wilmington, Delaware unanimously dismissed the anti-trust lawsuit filed by the Tennis Masters Series Hamburg against the ATP. The jury found the ATP's decision to downgrade the Hamburg Masters Series to a lower-level tournament status did not violate anti-trust monopoly laws.
Hamburg filed an appeal claiming the ATP tampered with key witnesses. The 3rd Circuit court is based in Philadelphia.
Joseph Torregrossa, director of the appellate mediation program, is expected to preside over the talks, according to SportsBusiness Journal.
Had Hamburg won its suit it would have theoretically threatened the ATP's very existence.
Hamburg, which sought $76.6 million in damages — more than the total reported assets of the ATP — filed its anti-trust suit against the ATP in April of 2007.
The German Federation claimed the ATP has been "hijacked by a majority of its board of directors and by certain executive officers." ATP Executive Chairman Etienne De Villiers and board members Charlie Pasarell and Graham Pearce, among others, were named as defendants.
The suit was sparked by the ATP's decision to strip Hamburg of its Masters Series status and switch its spot on the calendar from before the French Open to after the clay-court Grand Slam. The German Federation charged the ATP has "monopolistic control" over players and said downgraded it from a Masters Series event is a virtual death sentence for the tournament in that it would be impossible for a non-ATP event to attract top talent. And without top players they would be unable to attract the same sponsorship, draw the same crowds or collect the same TV revenues.
U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Sleet struck all but the central anti-trust charge in Hamburg's suit in the final days of the 12-day trial; the jury deliberated about nine hours before reaching its unanimous decision.
Madrid has assumed Hamburg's traditional May spot before Roland Garris on the 2009 ATP calendar.
The day after the decision, Brad Ruskin, attorney for the ATP in the lawsuit, told Tennis Week: "For the ATP, it was about the ability to create a schedule that was healthier for the players and it was about best serving the fans and consumers by expanding exposure to markets like China and to fabulous stadiums like the new complex in Madrid. If you look at places like Valencia and Rotterdam and many of those 500 events in new or supplemental facilities where everyone (working at those tournaments) was stepping up to try to bring the game to another level."
