Ex-NFL Player DeMeco Ryans Fights Arbitration in Lawsuit Versus Texans

Former Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles linebacker DeMeco Ryans has asked the Texas Supreme Court to let his lawsuit against the Texans continue, instead of going to arbitration.

As we reported earlier, Ryans sued the Houston Texans back in 2016, alleging that they were responsible for an Achilles tendon injury he suffered in 2014. Specifically, Ryans claimed that the field of NRG Stadium was maintained in a poor condition, as the playing field consists of square patches of actual grass interwoven with seams of artificial …

November 20, 2019 Doping / Litigation / NFL

Former Football Players Fight Back, Tell Ninth Circuit That NFL Was Directly Involved in Painkiller Lawsuit

In a lawsuit where former NFL players accused the league of doping them with amphetamines and painkillers, the players have responded to the NFL’s effort to end their appeal in the Ninth Circuit.

As we reported earlier, former Chicago Bears players Richard Dent and Jim McMahon sued the NFL in 2014, claiming that the league facilitated the use of opioids, anesthetics, and drugs like Toradol without prescriptions, violating the Controlled Substances Act . While their lawsuit was initially dismissed by a district court for being …

November 5, 2019 Class Actions / Doping / Litigation / NFL

NFL Tells Ninth Circuit to End Painkiller Class Action Lawsuit

The NFL argued to the Ninth Circuit that the lawsuit from former players should be dismissed, as it was individual teams, not the league, that supplied the players with amphetamines and painkillers.

In 2014, former Chicago Bears players Richard Dent and Jim McMahon sued the NFL, claiming that teams frequently use opioids, anesthetics, and anti-inflammatory drugs like Toradol. They alleged that such drug use often does not require prescriptions and that the teams do not take into account medical history, substance abuse treatment or potentially …

February 21, 2018 Baseball / Labor & Employment / Litigation / MLB

White Sox’s Move to Dismiss Dustin Fowler’s Negligence Suit

On February 13, 2018, the Chicago White Sox moved to dismiss a suit brought by brought by former New York Yankees outfielder, Dustin Fowler. Fowler, now a member of the Oakland Athletics, sued the White Sox claiming that the team negligently caused him to injure himself during a game at Guaranteed Rate Field, home of the White Sox. The incident occurred on June 29, 2017, when Fowler was running at full speed, chasing a foul ball, and crashed into the low corner wall. His right …

February 14, 2018 Fraud / NFL

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Move to Dismiss Expert in Negligence and Fraud Claims

On February 7, 2018, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by former player, Lazarius Pep Levingston. Levingston sued the team and its Director of Football Operations, Mike Greenburg, for negligence and fraud, alleging that the team concealed the extent of Levingston’s injures in order to give Levingston a smaller settlement. In August 2013, Levingston suffered a neck injury in a pre-season football game. The team informed Levingston that he had a “cervical strain/sprain, thoracic sprain/contusion, and shoulder contusion.” He …

January 29, 2018 Litigation / NFL

Riddell Fights Hundreds of Remand Motions

On January 19, 2018, Riddell Sports Group, Inc. opposed a class of former National Football League players’ motion to remand. Riddell is a sports equipment company that specializes in football equipment, particularity football helmets. The players are a part of a massive multidistrict litigation proceeding that is suing Riddell and the NFL. According to the motion, for the past six years, the players have been preceding under one master complaint that controlled all of their claims and superseded their original complaints. In addition, the players …

May 20, 2016 Concussions / Litigation / NHL

More Discovery Required in NHL Concussion Suit

On May 16, 2016, in the ongoing suit between retired NHL players and the league, a Minnesota Federal Judge ruled more discovery is needed to determine if the former player’s claims are preempted by an NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement and, if so, which one. In January, the NHL filed a motion to stay discovery until their motion to dismiss was ruled on, which the former players opposed. On Monday, a judge sided with the retired players in allowing discovery to continue.

The six …

February 17, 2016 Concussions / Litigation / NHL

NHL Again Seeks Dismissal of Former Players’ Spouses’ Claims

Last week, the NHL filed a new memorandum in support of its motion to dismiss the wrongful death and loss of consortium claims brought by the spouses of ex-players in December 2015. These claims were tacked on to the players’ master amended complaint at the end of last year, which was filed in the MDL case in Minnesota, to deal with issues of concussions and other head-related injuries, as well as the long-term effects players’ suffered over their careers.

The NHL had supplemented its pending …

October 29, 2015 NFL

Deflategate Appeal: NFL Files Opening Brief with Second Circuit

On Monday, October 26, 2015, the National Football League (NFL) filed its opening brief with United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit requesting that the district court’s “Deflategate” ruling be overturned.

The original decision, issued by District Court Judge Richard Berman, reversed the NFL’s 4 game suspension of Patriot’s quarterback Tom Brady. The NFL superstar was alleged to have been involved in a scandal to deflate footballs. In reversing Brady’s suspension, Judge Berman held that the NFL did not provide Brady with …

September 28, 2015 Litigation / NFL

Tynes v. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers: the Placekicker’s Staph Infection Suit Will Continue

The lawsuit of former NFL placekicker Lawrence Tynes will continue in Florida state court, despite the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ (the defendant) best efforts to dismiss the case on federal preemption grounds. The ruling of U.S. District Judge James S. Moody, Jr. on September 24, 2015, granted Tynes’ motion to remand the case to a state court. The decision also denied the Bucs’ counterargument that the case should be dismissed due to federal preemption under the Labor Management Relations Act.

In general circumstances, matters arising under …