U.S. judge dismisses lawsuit that sought end to major junior drafts

A U.S. District Court judge in New York has dismissed a class-action lawsuit that attempted to end the entry draft system in major junior hockey, citing numerous jurisdictional issues with the case.

“Plaintiffs have not met their burden to show that the [Canadian Hockey League] defendants invoked the benefits or protections of the laws of New York through scouting and recruiting in New York,” Judge Margaret Garnett wrote in a Nov. 26 decision. “The Court does not have personal jurisdiction over the CHL defendants under New York’s long-arm statute because, among other reasons, the named plaintiffs – who are not from New York and did not play hockey in New York – did not experience injury in New York."

Garnett wrote that the plaintiffs in the case did not establish that the CHL defendants “transact business” in New York state.

Garnett’s ruling comes two months after the plaintiffs asked Garnett to approve a preliminary injunction to eliminate the annual player drafts in the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, or to at least force the leagues to sign collective bargaining agreements with their players.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in New York in February and sought to improve rights and compensation for players in the CHL. The plaintiffs wanted major junior hockey to more closely resemble NCAA hockey, where players can choose which school to play for, and where players, if they so choose, can transfer to a different school without the permission of the school they are leaving.

Two former Western Hockey League players, Isaiah DiLaura and Tanner Gould, were involved in the case as plaintiffs and argued that prospective players should have the right to decide the teams they play for.

While the plaintiffs argued that CHL teams routinely attend development camps in New York and that OHL teams scout, draft, and sign players from the state, the CHL successfully countered that the court has no jurisdiction because there are no major junior teams based in New York.

“Plaintiffs provide some general evidence that an OHL scout travels to watch players where their teams play, and has scouted New York-based teams,” Garnett wrote in her 41-page decision. “This is plainly insufficient to show the transaction of business of any ‘substantial character.’ Plaintiffs do not show that any scout has ever even travelled to [New York] or how many times a scout has observed a team located in this [New York].”

Garnett also wrote that DiLaura, an American from Minnesota who played for WHL teams in Canada and Oregon, and Gould, a Canadian who played in Washington state and in Canada, did not have sufficient ties to New York to proceed.

“Gould and DiLaura – who are not from New York and did not play on New York-based hockey teams – do not argue that they have experienced any injury in New York, and they may not rely on the injury experienced by absent putative class members who may or may not ever become parties to this action to assert personal jurisdiction,” Garnett wrote.