Mikey Burnett Reached Settlement With Insurer-Litigation Continues With Zuffa & Zuffa Faces Possible Sanction

Following up on my posts, Mikey Burnett Lawsuit From 2008 Relating to His Alleged Injury On Season Four Of The Ultimate Fighter Still Pending and Mikey Burnett Lawsuit Heading to A Settlement Conference, according to the minutes of the Court on September 21, a settlement was reached among the parties and placed on the record under seal. On September 23, 2010, the Court clarified in its minutes that a "[s]ettlement was reached only as to Defendant National Union Fire Insurance Company."

As you will recall from my earlier posts, the facts underlying the dispute were as follows:

Mikey Burnett was a Season Four participant on the Ultimate Fighter (the "Comeback") who allegedly suffered a spinal injury while the show was in production and later sued TufGuy Productions, Inc., which produces the Ultimate Fighter, Ultimate Fighting Productions, LLC, Zuffa, and National Fire Insurance Company, which allegedly insured him under an "accident" policy. Burnett has asserted claims for negligence, breach of contract (against AIG - National Fire), and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing (against AIG-National Fire).

As I reported, Tufguy Productions, Inc., Ultimate Fighting Productions, LLC, and Zuffa, LLC's motion for summary judgment --discussed briefly in my first post -- is still pending and fully briefed.

After the settlement conference the Court also entered a show cause order on September 23, 2010 that provided as follows:

This matter came before the Court on September 21, 2010. Defendants Tufguy Productions, Inc., Ultimate Fighting Productions, LLC and Zuffa, LLC failed to comply with the Order Scheduling a Settlement Conference (#92) in that they failed to have present at the settlement conference on September 21, 2010, a representative of the insurance carrier, with
authority to settle this matter up to the full amount of the claim. Good cause appearing therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendants Tufguy productions, Inc., Ultimate Fighting Productions, LLC and Zuffa, LLC shall appear before the Court on October 8, 2010, at 11:15 AM and show cause, if any they have, why they should not be sanctioned for failing to comply with the Order Scheduling a Settlement Conference (#92). The Show Cause hearing will be held in courtroom 3D, 3d floor, Lloyd D. George United States Courthouse, 333 Las Vegas Blvd. So., Las Vegas, Nevada.

One thing that came from the declaration filed by Tufguy Productions, Inc., Ultimate Fighting Productions, LLC and Zuffa's attorney in response to the Show Cause Order was that Burnett made "a settlement demand of $250,000" and that the "demand was directed to all defendants."

I will continue to monitor.

Fight Lawyer