A California federal judge yesterday denied an NFLPA motion to dismiss a class-action lawsuit brought by five retired players alleging the union had failed to secure licensing agreements on their behalf. The case can now proceed. The case stems from an '07 lawsuit brought by retired players who had signed group-licensing agreements with the NFLPA, and who won a jury verdict and then a $26M settlement. This group of five players did not sign GLAs, but allege the same fiduciary relationship between the union and ex-players existed with them as it did with those who signed contracts.
The decision yesterday by California central district judge Gary Klausner rebuffed the NFLPA’s argument that the lawsuit was filed too late. The judge also wrote a fiduciary relationship likely existed between the players and the union, though he added a motion to dismiss forum was not the proper setting to decide that issue. “The Court finds that Plaintiffs’ Complaint states sufficient allegations that a fiduciary relationship exists,” he wrote. “Whether a relationship actually exists is not an appropriate matter for a Motion to Dismiss.”
The ex-players who filed the lawsuit are Bob Grant, Clinton Jones, Walter Roberts III, Marvin Cobb and Bernard Parrish, and they are represented by the law firm Blecher & Collins. The NFLPA is represented by Latham & Watkins. The NFLPA could not immediately be reached for comment. The NFLPA is also being sued in Minnesota federal court by a different group of retired players alleging the group improperly negotiated retirement benefits on their behalf.
