Partner acted for pub landlady who won legal battle with The Premier League
Who? Paul Dixon, 53, licensing and regulatory affairs partner at Rochdale firm Molesworths Bright Clegg.
Why is he in the news? Acted for Portsmouth pub landlady Karen Murphy, who took her case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) after an English court ordered her to pay around £8,000 in fines and costs for using a foreign decoder to screen Premier League football matches to her customers.
Murphy paid £800 a year for a Greek decoder - about one-tenth of the cost of a Sky subscription - to show live matches.
The league successfully took her to court, but her legal team then went to the High Court, which referred the case to the ECJ.
The ECJ ruled that she did not act unlawfully. Football leagues could not sell the right to broadcast matches in some countries and ban their transmission in others, because this contravenes EU laws on free trade. The ruling means people may now buy a cheaper decoder from anywhere in Europe.
Thoughts on the case: ‘A fantastic result for a fantastic client. The case established the fundamental principle that there should be a single audio-visual broadcast market across all 27 EU member states. It was also a great privilege to work with Martin Howe QC and the rest of the legal team.’
Why become a lawyer? ‘It was an instinctive rather than conscious choice. My father was an ex-policeman and it was through him that I learned to look at law and order with an objective eye.’
Career high: ‘This case. My client stood up for the little guy and won.’
Career low: ‘It is still to come. Karen made the legal team promise to do a karaoke night at her pub if we won the case.’
