Deflategate Marches On:
Tom Brady’s request to the Second Circuit for rehearing is due today. In order for the court to grant a rehearing, at least 7 out of 13 judges must vote that a rehearing is needed in order to either (1) maintain the uniformity of the court’s decisions or (2) that this case is exceptionally important enough to require further scrutiny.
UPDATE: A draft of the rehearing petition has been released, read it here.
The NFL is not allowed to file a response unless the Court orders them to do so. It is unlikely that the Second Circuit will grant Brady’s request without first seeking the NFL’s input. If a rehearing is granted, there will be no additional briefing but the court will have the option of rehearing oral argument. If the rehearing request is denied, Brady will then have 90 days to petition the U.S. Supreme Court.
Six More NCAA Concussion Lawsuits:
Last week the law firm Edelson PC, on behalf of a number of former college athletes, filed six new class action concussion lawsuits against the NCAA, various conferences, and a couple universities. Here is a list of where they were filed, and who the defendants are in each case:
Six (!) new concussion lawsuits were filed against the NCAA, others yesterday. Here is a cheatsheet for all of them: pic.twitter.com/IhNHoyZeXu
— Dan Werly (@WerlySportsLaw) May 19, 2016
They allege that the NCAA knew of the dangers of concussions “but actively concealed this information to protect the very profitable business of ‘amateur’ college football.” The six new lawsuits are just the beginning. Plaintiffs’ attorney Jay Edelson says that he expects 40 to 50 total lawsuits to be filed, so stay tuned over the next few weeks and months for more.
Nike sues US Runner Boris Berian at a Track Meet:
A few weeks ago, Nike filed a federal breach of contract lawsuit against U.S. runner Boris Berian (read the full lawsuit here). The lawsuit is relatively run of the mill, the way it was served, however, is far from it:
Today, I got served at the Hoka Classic, @nike is going to sue me for breach of a contract that expired on 12/31/15. What shall I do?
— Boris Berian (@borisgump800) May 21, 2016
It is common for service to occur at or near an individual’s place of work but as far as I can remember, this is a first.
The suit alleges that Berian, a McDonalds fry cook turned track star, failed to give Nike a chance to match the terms of his new New Balance endorsement deal, an obligation that allegedly arose from his 2015 Nike endorsement contract. Nike is seeking a declaratory judgment and injunction stating that Berian must sign with Nike. Berian’s answer to the Complaint is due in late June. (Case No. 16-cv-00743)
♫ Trump and Brady, sitting in a tree. ♫