Warner Bros. Discovery’s breach of contract lawsuit against the NBA is on what lawyers call a rocket docket, meaning the case is accelerated, scheduled to reach trial in March 2025, just nine months after the litigation commenced. That is an extraordinarily quick timeline for a lawsuit, but necessary given the nature of the case.

But the process so far is not fast enough for WBD, which maintains it matched the NBA’s deal with Amazon Prime that would begin in the ‘25-’26 season (Warner’s existing deal with the NBA has a matching rights provision). WBD has requested 18 depositions, including three to four each from Amazon and NBC, the two of which are not parties to the case. The NBA’s current offer: zero depositions. The judge so far will allow 10.

Amazon and NBC, along with ESPN, won rights to air the NBA beginning next season, bumping WBD’s long standing basketball broadcaster TNT.

The deposition derby was disclosed in a letter one of the league’s outside counsels sent to the presiding judge, outlining why in the NBA’s opinion WBD’s demands are unreasonable.

“Here, Plaintiffs have not even identified the specific individuals they wish to depose, much less made a particularized showing that each is a ‘critical and necessary’ witness,” the lawyers wrote. “Instead they simply say that ‘Plaintiffs may seek to depose’ various numbers of witnesses falling into five broad categories.”

These categories include two or three members of the NBA Media committee, which is made up of owners. Ted Leonsis, owner of the Washington Wizards is chair of the committee.

Beyond the lack of specificity as to whom WBD wishes to depose, it is also not uncommon for discovery to generally start after motions to dismiss are decided. The NBA has filed such a motion. The standards are steep to win such a motion because the judge has to assume everything in the complaint is true, and then conclude simply from the early court filings there is still no case.

The NBA sees this case though as a classic motion to dismiss candidate because in submitting a matching offer to the league, WBD extensively changed the wording and terms.

“As defendants’ motion to dismiss makes clear, this is a straightforward breach-of-contract action that principally turns on whether TBS’s numerous changes to Amazon’s offer invalidated TBS’s purported match of the offer and instead constituted a counteroffer,” the league’s counsel wrote. Appendix A “to defendants’ motion shows that TBS made substantive revisions to eight of the Amazon’s offer’s 27 sections, changed 11 defined terms collectively used roughly 100 times in that offer, struck almost 300 words, and added over 270 new words, substantially altering the parties’ rights and obligations.”  

WBD argues it changed language because of poison pills Amazon and NBA put in the contract that made it impossible for Turner to match the original contract.

In a short order stamped on top of the NBA letter, which was filed on the public docket this week, Judge Joel Cohen wrote WBD’s bid for 18 depositions is premature but the company can come back to him after 10 are done. Rules overseeing the case limit depositions to 10 per side, and in fact for an accelerated case, to seven, the NBA’s lawyer wrote.

But Cohen seems to be splitting his decision. On the one hand he won’t go for 18 depositions, at least not now. But the NBA’s position is no depositions are necessary because the case can be decided on filings, so Cohen appears to be giving each side some of what they wanted.

Depositions are a costly and time consuming process, so it is no surprise the NBA would be trying to avoid the interrogations. While generally confidential, excerpts from the transcripts often appear in public filings, and in some cases the entire transcript becomes a public document. As private companies, sports leagues strive to keep their business out of court.

Cohen has scheduled an in person court session December 17 to hear the motion to dismiss arguments.