SAMS in the News
In September 2022, SAMS verified the Minor League Baseball Players Association had collected enough cards from minor league players expressing support for the MLBPA to represent them, a majority of the more than 5,000 players. The card count and verification conducted by SAMS confirmed the MLBPA will represent the minor league players, the first time in more than a century the players will be represented by a union.
In November 2022, SAMS mediated a multi-party defamation lawsuit originally filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan in 2019, involving Virginia Giuffre’s claims against celebrity counsel Alan Dershowitz and his countersuit against her, as well as famed attorney Davis Boies’ lawsuit against Mr. Dershowitz and his countersuit against Mr. Boies. Ms. Giuffre’s claims were related to her accusations she was a victim of sex trafficking at the hands of Jeffrey E. Epstein when she was a minor. Martin F. Scheinman, of SAMS, mediated the settlement which resolved the three year litigation to the satisfaction of all parties.
SAMS mediators help to settle contract dispute between Michigan Nurses Association – University of Michigan Professional Nurse Council (MNA-UMPNC) and the University of Michigan. After six (6) months of negotiations without resolution, the MNA-UMPNC and the University of Michigan asked SAMS to step-in to help the parties break their impasse. Given the nation-wide capacity possessed by SAMS, within days Barry J. Peek, and Timothy S. Taylor traveled to Ann Arbor for three (3) days of in-person meetings during which substantial progress was achieved towards breaking the parties’ deadlock. Peek and Taylor then conducted three (3) virtual mediation sessions as a result of which the parties came to a five (5) year Agreement which was, in turn, approved by the Employer and overwhelmingly ratified by Union’s membership.
SAMS arbitrator Martin F. Scheinman mediated a settlement in the widely publicized lawsuit against comedian Horatio Sanz of Saturday Night Live by an anonymous accuser who claimed the famed actor sexually assaulted her at a SNL party when she was a minor. The claims, including claims involving NBCUniversal, were settled to the satisfaction of all parties.
In December 2022, SAMS arbitrator Martin F. Scheinman determined an appeal by Trevor Bauer, a professional baseball pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who was suspended by Major League Baseball for 324 games, or two full seasons, after an investigation concluded he assaulted several women during sexual encounters he alleges were consensual. Mr. Scheinman concluded Bauer violated MLB’s domestic violence and sexual assault policy but reduced his suspension to 194 games, reinstating him to play. The suspension will result in Bauer forfeiting $37.5 million and his salary will be reduced the first fifty games of the 2023 season.
SAMS arbitrator Julie A. Torrey continues to handle private discipline and contract arbitration matters in a variety of industries, including transportation, health care, telecommunications, education, commercial and residential real estate and wine and spirits wholesaling.
SAMS arbitrators and mediators remain committed to providing industry-leading strategies to settle and decide the most complex and problematic disputes.