NBA lock-out: Players combine lawsuits to speed up process

The NBA players merged their two anti-trust lawsuits against the league into one on Monday in an effort to speed up the judicial process, local media reported.

The locked-out players had filed separate actions against the NBA in California and Minnesota last week once talks between their union and the league broke down.

The union then disbanded, which allowed the players to file the two anti-trust complaints, though they have now combined their claims in Minnesota, where the NFL players scored a victory in their own labor dispute earlier this year.

The lawsuit has been brought by plaintiffs that include Steve Nash, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups.

Team owners locked the players out on July 1 and despite exhaustive negotiations, the NBA cancelled the first two weeks of the season that was supposed to start on November 1 and have since cancelled all regular season games until December 15.

The owners said they lost $300 million last season and had been seeking a redistribution of revenue under a new contract.

Players, who received 57 percent of basketball income in the previous contract, rejected an offer for a 50-50 split and also are at odds with the owners over rules governing contracts and free agency.