Commissioner moves draft to 10 p.m. by decree, insists he granted nothing; Court holds the case is not moot

Hours after his filings went viral, Marc Goldich got what he asked for, and the Court got a mootness problem.

At 2:22 p.m. Wednesday Goldich announced in the League chat that “Appellant voluntarily dismisses all remaining claims,” adding: “Notwithstanding protestations otherwise, the system works.” Three minutes later Commissioner Erich Dylus confirmed the draft would move: “same day, two hours later. 10pm eastern.”

Asked by Drew Hinkes where the order granting the delay was, the Commissioner declined to concede that one existed. “I grant nothing,” he wrote. “I adhere to a strict standard of arbitrariness and unilaterally act through authoritarian decree.” He then supplied the decree’s reasoning: “the 10pm time is better for my daughter’s bedtime.”

League member David Kovari summarized the procedural posture for the group: “Case was dismissed voluntarily by plaintiff so no final appellate ruling was made.” Hinkes was unmoved. “Right but relief was granted. Where’s the order.”

The settlement, as the appellant describes it

Goldich later characterized the outcome in terms the Commissioner has not adopted. “Appellant accepts the Commissioner’s confession of error,” he wrote. “The parties appear to have reached a settlement in principle: 10P, with each side to bear its own costs and bribes.”

He also notified his co-plaintiff of the financial consequences. “David, as co-named plaintiff, this seems like an appropriate time to advise you that all fees, costs, and administrative expenses associated with this litigation will be apportioned equally among the named plaintiffs.” Lopez-Kurtz has not responded on the record, though he did tell the chat his wife was “going to be so annoyed” when he explained the situation.

Why the Court is keeping the case

The Court issued a short order Wednesday evening declining to dismiss No. 26-1 as moot. The order rests on three grounds.

First, voluntary cessation. A party who changes the challenged conduct after suit is filed does not moot the case if he remains free to resume it. The Commissioner has not merely remained free to resume the 8:00 p.m. draft; he has announced that the 10:00 p.m. draft is not a grant of relief at all, but an act of arbitrary will that could, by its own logic, be reversed by another one. The order quotes the Commissioner’s own words and observes that “a decree that grants nothing protects nothing.”

Second, the appellant’s dismissal was of “all remaining claims” in the court below. The petition in this Court was granted before judgment and is not a claim below. Nothing has been dismissed here, and the appellant’s subsequent references to “settlement in principle” and “bribes” confirm that the parties themselves regard the matter as unresolved.

Third, the question is capable of repetition yet evading review. The League drafts annually. Back-to-School Night is also annual. The Commissioner has a daughter with a bedtime. The conflict will recur, and on the present record it will be resolved each year by whichever of the Commissioner’s moods arrives first.

The opinion will issue Monday as scheduled. The Court notes that the appellant has informed the parties he is “in a live draft rn,” and does not expect him to attend argument.

Other developments

The Office of the Clerk has a name. Aaron, a League member, wrote Wednesday night: “I am the clerk.” A second member added: “no one deserves it more.” The Court accepts the appointment and observes that the Clerk, unlike his predecessor, can read.

Jacob Robinson disclosed a prior-term dispute, Robinson v. Dylus et al. (2025), of which no record survives, noting that he “had a lot of complaints about Erich that year. None in 2026.” He proposed a League constitution. The Commissioner replied: “Constitutional Dictatorship.”