NFL Tries to Remove Duerson’s Case to Federal Court

I did not plan on writing about this jurisdictional dispute until Duerson’s lawyer, William T. Gibbs, filed a Motion to Remand. I received an email from Gibbs yesterday stating that he is currently “drafting the motion to remand.”

However, I felt compelled after I read a story from a Chicago radio station, WLS 890 AM. The title, “Duerson’s estate wants wrongful death case in federal court,” is so far from reality that whoever reported on the story should be fired immediately. Other media outlets have started to run with the story which will likely lead to greater confusion. To be fair, if you are not educated in the law, jurisdictional issues can be complex. But still, this egregious error cannot be looked over.

In any event, here is what’s going on. Duerson’s wrongful death lawsuit was filed in Cook County State Court. The NFL has filed a Notice of Removal which essentially removes the case from state court and places the lawsuit in federal court in Chicago. In the following days, Duerson’s lawyer will file a Motion to Remand asking the Judge to send the case back to state court. The Judge will have to determine if the court has jurisdiction. Federal courts can only hear certain types of cases, and the NFL is arguing that the case should be in federal court because there is a federal question. According to the NFL, the court has original jurisdiction pursuant to Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA). In other words, jurisdiction is proper with the federal court because the lawsuit is based upon a contract (Collective Bargaining Agreement) dispute between an employer (NFL) and a labor organization (Duerson, a member of the NFLPA).

Now that let me go through the inaccuracies in the WLS story.

Dave Duerson’s family filed a motion Thursday to move a wrongful death suit against the NFL out of county hands and into federal jurisdiction.

Corrected: The NFL filed the Notice of Removal on Thursday with the hopes of sending the case to Philadelphia once, and if, the court determines it has federal jurisdiction.

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation recently announced those suits could be consolidated — something one of Duerson’s lawyers, Robert Michels, said his clients want to capitalize on.

Corrected: Robert Michels is the attorney for the NFL. William T. Gibbs of Corboy & Demetrio is Duerson’s lawyer. This mistake speaks for itself. I cannot comprehend how any reporter could have purportedly spoken to Michels and got from the conversation that Michels was representing Duerson. Do your damn homework!

Michels said the ultimate goal is that it be lumped with other cases and heard by a single judge.

Corrected: This is indeed the NFL’s ultimate goal. For convenience sake, they want this case transferred and consolidated with the other concussion lawsuits in Philadelphia.

At bottom, WLS F’d up badly! By simply reviewing the Notice of Removal – doing your due diligence – the confusion could have been prevented. Below is the Notice of Removal. I’ll have a more scholarly post of the jurisdictional battle once Duerson files the Motion to Remand.

[scribd id=88281575 key=key-2kokoyt11im3ra574tff mode=list]