UPDATE
- Judge rejects NFL’s bid to dodge painkiller class action lawsuit in order dated Feb. 19, 2021.
- Case tentatively scheduled for trial in April of 2022.
The National Football League (NFL) argued that a 2014 class action lawsuit alleging teams pushed painkillers on players should be thrown out based on union labor contracts in a virtual hearing held this week.
Lead plaintiff, former Chicago Bear Richard Dent, said the NFL told team doctors to distribute pharmaceutical-grade painkillers to players without informing them of the side effects to get them back in the game. The class action lawsuit claimed players were pushed the painkillers while the league turned a blind eye between 1969 and 2012. The NFL reportedly claims that it believed players would be protected under their team labor contracts.
“Both Ninth Circuit and Supreme Court law is clear that you can’t ask the court to ignore directly relevant collective bargaining agreement provisions,” an NFL lawyer said in the hearing reported by Courthouse News.
In response, lawyers representing the Class Members contended the labor contracts were beside the point and the real issue is whether the NFL should have done more to protect players from getting pharmaceutical grade painkillers from team doctors.
The class action lawsuit has had its starts and stops through the court system. Originally filed in 2014, Dent and more than 500 former NFL players alleged that teams regularly pushed players to take painkillers and other drugs to keep productive athletes on the field instead of allowing them to rehabilitate their injuries. This allegedly led to widespread abuse of painkillers by NFL players and long-term injuries.
The class action was dismissed that same year, with the NFL successfully arguing that contracts between players’ labor unions and the teams preempted claims under state law. The players appealed, convincing the Ninth Circuit to revive the class action lawsuit.
The lawsuit was back in the game, but faced another round of dismissals and a partially successful appeal, with the Ninth Circuit again reviving claims again in August of 2020 noting in its opinion that “it was within the NFL’s control to promulgate rules or guidelines that could improve safety for players.”
In its most recent effort to dismiss the painkillers class action lawsuit, the NFL insisted that it did make efforts to protect players, pointing to terms in their labor contracts.
In an order issued Feb. 19, 2021, Judge Alsup rejected the NFL’s arguments, ruling that players could proceed with their claims against the league. Lawyers for the proposed Class reportedly announced that they will proceed with the class action lawsuit as a result.
In his order, Judge Alsup, who has dismissed the claims twice before, acknowledged that the labor contracts cited by NFL attorneys in their bid for dismissal could still contain language affecting the class action.
“This case has been to the court of appeals twice and the NFL has failed to win an affirmance of prior dismissals,” pointed out the judge in his order. “Rather than a third dismissal and overindulgence in judicial notice, the Court believes the record for the court of appeals will be more complete and true to history if we proceed to trial and/or summary judgment.”
The case has been scheduled for a tentative trial date of April 4, 2022.
Top Class Actions will update this news story as it develops. Click on the “Follow Article” button at the top of this page to get the latest updates on the NFL players painkillers class action lawsuit by using your free Top Class Actions account.
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The former NFL players are represented by Philip Closius, William N. Sinclair, Steven D. Silverman, Andrew G. Slutkin, Stephen G. Grygiel and Joseph F. Murphy Jr. of Silverman Thompson Slutkin White LLC and Thomas J. Byrne and Mel T. Owens of Namanny Byrne & Owens PC.
The NFL Painkillers Class Action Lawsuit is Richard Dent, et al. v. National Football League, Case No. 3:14-CV-02324-WHA, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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