Ex-Players Argue NFL Moving the Goalposts on Requirements to Get Settlement Share

Sixteen retired NFL players urged a Pennsylvania federal court on Monday, November 13, 2017, to overturn a claims administrator’s changes to how claims are processed under a settlement agreement for brain injuries. The NFL reached the estimated $1 billion settlement in the concussion suit four years ago, and began accepting claims against the settlement eight months ago. Of the 1,400 players awarded damages from the league as part of the settlement, only 140 have gotten any sort of payout from the NFL.

The court …

November 19, 2017 Litigation / NFL

NFL Requests Hernandez Suit to be Paused

On November 15, 2017, the NFL moved a Massachusetts federal court to stay the proceedings of the lawsuit filed by Aaron Hernandez’s daughter for his late-stage chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) until a decision is made about transferring the case to multidistrict litigation. After Hernandez committed suicide in prison, it was found that he had stage three CTE at the age of 27, which is most commonly seen in men in their 60s. Hernandez’s daughter claimed the NFL knew about CTE since the 1960s but did …

November 18, 2017 Concussions / NFL

Researchers Report Evidence of CTE in a Living Patient for the First Time

Researchers in Chicago report they have detected evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in a living patient for the first time by detecting deposits of tau proteins. The degenerative brain disease currently can only be formally diagnosed after an autopsy. The study also confirmed that a “fingerprint” signature of CTE exists. More research is needed to verify the correlation, but it is a groundbreaking first step toward understanding CTE and developing a cure. The case study was published in the journal Neurosurgery this …

November 16, 2017 NFL

Game Over for Ezekiel Elliott; Appeal at Second Circuit Dropped

Dallas Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott has accepted his six-game suspension and withdrawn his appeal at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, ending the battle that started in July 2016, when Elliott’s ex-girlfriend accused him of domestic violence. After a year-long investigation, his suspension was announced August 11, 2017. Elliott fought the suspension through three different courts, and got three reprieves that kept him on the field for the first half of the season.

He will sit out the next five games, and is set to return …

November 16, 2017 NFL

NFL Removes Hernandez Suit to Federal Court

On November 14, 2017, the NFL removed Aaron Hernandez’s daughter’s lawsuit to Massachusetts federal court. The lawsuit seeks to hold the NFL, as well as helmet maker Riddell, Inc. accountable for Hernandez’s development of severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The NFL moved the case to federal court based on their assertion that the claim arises under federal law.

Hernandez’s daughter, Avielle, filed the suit initially in Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. She claimed the NFL and Riddell hid and downplayed the risks of …

November 3, 2017 NFL

Ezekiel Elliott Gets Hail Mary; Set to Play on Sunday

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals granted the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) emergency motion for a temporary order blocking Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension. The order blocks the six-game suspension for domestic violence that Elliott has faced all season and will allow Elliott to play in Sunday’s (November 5, 2017) game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Second Circuit Judge granted Elliott’s request to stay his suspension and the issue will be referred to the next available three-judge panel to expedite the appeal process. The National Football …

November 2, 2017 NFL

NFLPA Fumbles Emergency Stay of Ezekiel Elliott’s Suspension; Appeals to Second Circuit

In yet another move to try to delay Dallas Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott’s six-game suspension, the NFL Players Association made an emergency motion seeking a temporary order blocking the suspension. The motion came less than a day after U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla, on October 30th, had denied the NFLPA’s motion for a preliminary injunction to block the suspension while the appeals process continues. Judge Failla quickly denied the request, saying it would “in effect … reverse [her] decision of [Monday] evening denying the NFLPA’s …

October 31, 2017 NFL

Ezekiel Elliott Back on the Bench as Suspension Reinstated

After hearing arguments from the NFL and the NFL Players Association, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla denied Dallas Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott’s request for a preliminary injunction to block his six-game suspension. The decision comes only two weeks after the same court had granted Elliott’s request for a temporary restraining order that had then frozen the suspension.

This was Elliott’s second request for a preliminary injunction since he received the suspension on August 11 following domestic violence allegations. The first request had been granted by …

October 24, 2017 Concussions / NFL

NFL Concussion Litigation Faces Fight Over Selling Settlement Proceeds

On October 13, 2017, class counsel in the National Football League concussion litigation asked a Pennsylvania federal judge to rule that an uncapped settlement agreement prohibits players from assigning their payouts to a third party. The motions stem from a hearing in July that addressed concerns that players who would benefit from an uncapped settlement were being improperly solicited by claim assistance providers who may be giving misleading offers. Then, in a September hearing, class counsel warned the judge that many players made deals with …

October 19, 2017 Concussions / Litigation / NFL

Hernandez’s Daughter Adds Helmet Maker in Refiled CTE Suit

On October 16, 2017, Aaron Hernandez’s daughter, Avielle Hernandez, filed suit in Massachusetts state court against the NFL and helmet maker Riddell Inc. for Hernandez’s post-death diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). This suit was filed a few days after Avielle’s lawyers withdrew her suit in federal court against the NFL and the New England Patriots. However, the New England Patriots were left out of the Massachusetts state court suit. Avielle’s attorney stated that a separate action involving the Patriots will be filed at a …