Molinas v. Podoloff
New York Supreme Court
133 N.Y.S.2d 743 (1954)
- Written by Abby Roughton, JD
Facts
Jack Molinas (plaintiff) was a professional basketball player for the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (the Pistons) in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Molinas had signed a standard NBA player contract with the Pistons. In response to previous scandals involving bribery, point fixing, and wagering, the standard player contract provided that any player who wagered on the outcome of any NBA game would be expelled from the NBA after due notice and a hearing. In January 1954, during a Fort Wayne Police Department inquiry into the Pistons, Molinas voluntarily signed a statement admitting that he had wagered on the outcome of games involving the Pistons. When NBA President Maurice Podoloff (defendant) learned of Molinas’s statement, Podoloff indefinitely suspended Molinas from playing in the NBA. Molinas sued Podoloff in New York state court, seeking a permanent injunction to set aside his suspension and reinstate his rights as a player member of the NBA. Molinas asserted that (1) he had not been given the required notice and a hearing before his suspension, and (2) Podoloff did not have the authority to indefinitely suspend Molinas. In addition to equitable relief, Molinas sought damages equaling the amount of his salary between the time of his suspension and the time of the hearing.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Joseph, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.