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 …

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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 …

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Former NFL Kicker Sues the Buccaneers

Lawrence Tynes, two-time Super Bowl winner and the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker has commenced a lawsuit for $20 million. Tynes has alleged that the dirty and unsafe conditions at the Buccaneers facility led him to contract MRSA. This infection ultimately ended his NFL career.

Tynes signed with the Buccaneers in 2013, but never played a game. He claims that during training camp he and three other players, including Carl Nicks, contracted MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). He further claims that that Buccaneers leadership did not …

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers Settle with Cheerleaders for $825k

On Friday March 6, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers reached a cash settlement with their cheerleader squad, ending an almost year-long wage dispute.

Last May, Manouchcar Pierre-Val, a Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleader during the 2012-2013 season, filed a lawsuit against the team claiming unfair wages and treatment.  According to the lawsuit, Pierre-Val and other cheerleaders were paid less than $2 per hour.  The cheerleaders received $100 per game, but were not compensated for practice time, charity events, clinics, and shooting their swimsuit calendar.  Though unpaid for …

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DEA’s Surprise NFL Inspections for Painkiller Misuse

On Sunday, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration conducted surprise inspections of various NFL teams, including the San Francisco 49ers, the Seattle Seahawk, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  The inspections were sparked by allegations asserted in a class-action lawsuit filed in May 2014 by several of the high-profile named players like Richard Dent, Keith Van Horne, and Jim McMahon.

The lawsuit alleged that team doctors and trainers routinely distributed addictive narcotics such as Percocet and Percodan and sleeping pills such as Ambien to players in …

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