Retired NFL Players Appealing Decision To Throw Out NFLPA Suit

A group of 47 retired NFL players today filed an appeal with the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals of a lower court’s decision dismissing their lawsuit against the NFLPA. Judge Susan Nelson of the Minnesota federal court on May 29 threw out the retirees' claims that the NFLPA had interfered with their negotiations with the NFL last year and acted illegally because it was not a union at the time. The filing by the retirees, led by Carl Eller, cites as grounds for the appeal that the district court erred in its dismissal standard, and made conclusions of facts that could not have been supported without discovery. Retirees “allege that the NFLPA underwent a sham decertification and proceeded to illegally collectively bargain for rights that were explicitly designated to (the retirees),” the appeal motion says. “Did the district court err in making a finding a fact at the motion to dismiss stage, without the benefits of discovery?”

The 8th Circuit last May famously overturned Nelson’s injunction against the NFL lockout, drastically altering the paradigm of that labor standoff. Today’s appeal is separate from a different group of retirees who yesterday asked the AFL-CIO to remove the NFLPA from the labor umbrella group, citing the football union’s treatment of retirees. However, both sets of retirees are represented by Hausfeld LLC.