Over NFL objections, a New York State Court judge Friday morning ordered to commence discovery in the lawsuit between the league and its insurers over whether they are liable to cover the NFL’s obligations in the roughly $1B concussion settlement. The order, which effectively ends a four-year stay on discovery in the case, is in some respects a seminal moment, as it will mark the first time the league is subject to discovery over what it knew about the health risks of concussions and playing football. The insurers argument is that the NFL knew of the risks of playing football, and so insurance should not cover the claims. The NFL settled with thousands of former players suing over concussions without any discovery. That settlement, approved by a lower federal court and an appeals panel, was appealed again this week. NFL outside counsel John Hall of Covington & Burling argued the insurance case should not proceed until not only the appeal is exhausted, but discovery has commenced on 150 individual cases brought by former players who have opted out of the settlement. “I can’t stop this anymore,” Judge Jeffrey Oing told the parties. Pressed by Hall then to limit discovery only to documents and not depositions, Oing said, “We haven't heard the start gun go off and you are asking all these conditions to be put in. The answer is no.” Oing ended the hearing by giving the sides two weeks to agree on a calendar for discovery. If they cannot agree, he tentatively set a new hearing date of May 20. The insurers were represented at the hearing by Chris Carroll of Carroll McNulty & Kull (Daniel Kaplan, Staff Writer).
CONSISTENT MESSAGE: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell appeared on ESPN Radio's "Mike & Mike" on Friday and referenced the acknowledgement by league Senior VP/Health & Safety Policy Jeff Miller that there is a link between football and CTE. Goodell said, "We don’t think that comment was inconsistent with any comments we’ve made in the past. We’ve had posters in our locker room that have indicated that repeated head trauma may cause long-term effects, particularly if they are not treated and managed properly" (“Mike & Mike,” ESPN Radio, 4/29).
