Daniels v. Fanduel, Inc.

109 N.E.3d 390 (2018)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Daniels (Ps) were collegiate student-athletes at various times between 2014-2016. Ps' on-field performances were collected as numerical statistics and published by various fantasy sports website operators including FanDuel (Ds). Ds used the information as part of its fantasy sports league. Consumers would pay a fee to access detailed information such as Ps' names, images, and statistics, assess the athletes' weekly performances and assemble a virtual team of real-life athletes to compete against other users' teams on Ds’ websites. Players were assigned a dollar value and each fantasy team was subjected to an overall salary cap. Each athlete's performance on the field translated to a point value determined by Ds. At the end of a designated period, consumers were eligible to win cash prizes based on the points accumulated by their fantasy sports team. Ps filed a class action alleging a violation of their right to publicity under Indiana law. Ds removed the case to the U.S. District Court and moved to dismiss. Ds claimed that the use of Ps' names and statistics fell under certain statutory exceptions to the right of publicity. The District Court dismissed the suit, finding no violation of Ps' right of publicity because the use of their likenesses was in material that had newsworthy value and was a matter of public interest. Ps appealed and the court certified a question of Indiana law to the Indiana Supreme Court.