BOYD et al v. NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE et al
Filing
1
COMPLAINT against NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NFL PROPERTIES LLC ( Filing fee $ 350 receipt number 055871.), filed by MACARTHUR LANE, MARK COOPER, BRAD JACKSON, ROBERT BELL, CHARLES ANTHONY, CLIFF HARRIS, MARVIN WOODSON, PAUL KRAUSE, NOEL JENKE, CHARLES MYRTLE, CEDRICK HARDMAN, BRUCE LAIRD, JOE DELAMIELLEURE, DON HORN, DENNIS HARRAH, JAMES WILLIAMS, MARK KONAR, TOMMY NOBIS, JAMES JONES, CALVIN JACKSON, TROY JOHNSON, MICHAEL MORTON, PETER LAZETICH, CALEB MILLER, JOSEPH KAPP, MICHAEL WEDDINGTON, HARVEY ARMSTRONG, DERLAND MOORE, MICHAEL MERRIWEATHER, JAMES HARRELL, AARON JONES, II, KENNETH EASLEY, JR, ESTATE OF GREGORY LENS, RICK SANFORD, WILLIAM "BILLY&quo SHIELDS, GARY PADJEN, CHARLES KRUEGER, PHIL VILLAPIANO, KEN FANTETTI, DONNIE GREEN, LEON "RAY" JARVIS, EDWARD WHITE, JOE FERGUSON, JR, LARRY WOODS, DONALD MACEK, JEFF BARNES, CHARLIE SMITH, LEE FOLKINS, DERRICK GAFFNEY, AUGUST "GUS" OTTO, PHILLIP FREEMAN, III, OLRICK JOHNSON, JR, WILLIE GREEN, JAMES HOUGH, CHARLEY HARRAWAY, THOMAS BEER, JAMES GARCIA, FRED FORSBERG, TERRANCE "TERRY&quo METCALF, BOBBY HARDEN, JR, DENNIS MCKNIGHT, ALFRED GROSS, GENE LANG, LEMUEL BARNEY, BRENT BOYD, DELLES HOWELL, JERRY ROBINSON, WILLIAM "BILL" CODY, VICTOR HICKS, ARTHUR STILL, REGINALD CLARK, CRAIG CURRY, DONALD MANOUKIAN, MARK NICHOLS, JEFF MCINTYRE, DAVID RECHER, LEONARD "BUBBA&quo MCDOWELL, JR, MIKE WOOD, TERRY OWENS, CLARENCE VERDIN, BRYAN STOLENBERG, ROD MARTIN, ROBERT KROLL, KEITH NORD, MICHAEL "TONY" DAVIS, CONRAD DOBLER, MELVIN CARVER, MIKE AUGUSTYNIAK, TRUMAINE JOHNSON, FRED SMERLAS, RANDY RAGON, MARGENE ADKINS, NEAL CRAIG, WILLIAM "BILLY&quo TRUAX, KORY MINOR, J. BRUCE JARVIS, LIONEL ANTOINE, STEVE JONES, PETER CRONAN, IRA MATTHEWS, III, MARK COTNEY, JEFFREY WALKER, MERVIN KRAKAU, JON MELANDER, LARRY WEBSTER, FRED ANDERSON. (Attachments: # 1 complaint, # 2 complaint, # 3 complaint, # 4 complaint, # 5 complaint, # 6 complaint, # 7 complaint, # 8 complaint, # 9 complaint, # 10 complaint, # 11 complaint, # 12 complaint, # 13 complaint, # 14 complaint, # 15 complaint, # 16 complaint, # 17 complaint, # 18 complaint, # 19 Civil Cover Sheet)(mima, )
dizziness, loss of memory, impulse control problems, depression, suicidal thoughts, sleep
problems, irritability, and numbness/tingling in neck and cervical spine.
111.
Defendant NFL, which maintains its offices at280 Park Avenue, New
York, New York, is an unincorporated association consisting of the 32 separately-owned and
independently-operated professional football teams that are listed below. The NFL is engaged in
interstate commerce in the business of, among other things, operating the sole major professional
football league in the United States. The NFL is not, and has not, been the employer of the
Plaintiffs, all of whom were employed during their respective careers in professional football by
the clubs indicated above. The United States Supreme Court held last year in American Needle,
Inc. v. NFL,130 S.Ct.2201,2212-13 (2010) that each team that is a member of the NFL
association is a legally distinct and separate entity from both other teams and the League itself:
The NFL teams do not possess either the unitary decisionmaking
quality or the single aggregation of economic power characteristic
of independent action. Each of the teams is a substantial,
independently owned, and independently managed business.
"[T]heir general corporate actions are guided or determined" by
o'separate
corporate consciousnesses," and "[t]heir objectives are"
not "common." . . . The teams compete with one another, not only
on the playing field, but to attract fans, for gate receipts and for
contracts with managerial and playing personnel.
ll2.
The 32 separately-owned and independently-operated professional football
teams mentioned above are:
State of
NFL Team Owner
Team Name (City)
0rganization
Arizona Cardinals, Inc.
Arizona
Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons Football Club LLC
Georgia
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens Limited Partnership
Maryland
Baltimore Ravens
34
Buffalo Bills,Inc.
New York
Buffalo Bills
Panthers Football LLC
North Carolina
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears Football Club, Inc.
Delaware
Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals, Inc.
Ohio
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns LLC
Delaware
Cleveland Browns
Dallas Cowboys Football Club, Ltd.
Texas
Dallas Cowboys
Denver Broncos Football Club
Colorado
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions, Inc.
Michigan
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers, Inc.
Wisconsin
Green Bay Packers
Houston NFL Holdings LP
Delaware
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts, Inc.
Delaware
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars Ltd.
Florida
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs Football Club, Inc.
Texas
Kansas City Chiefs
Miami Dolphins, Ltd.
Florida
Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings Football Club LLC
Minnesota
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots, LP
Delaware
New England Patriots
New Orleans Louisiana Saints LLC
Texas
New Orleans Saints
New York Football Giants,Inc.
New York
New York Giants
New York Jets Football Club, Inc.
Delaware
New York Jets
Oakland Raiders LP
California
Oakland Raiders
Philadelphia Eagles Football Club, Inc.
Delaware
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers Sports, Inc.
Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh Steelers
San Diego Chargers Football Co.
California
San Diego Chargers
35
San Francisco Forty Niners Ltd.
California
San Francisco 49ers
Football Northwest LLC
Washington
Seattle Seahawks
The Rams Football Company LLC
Delaware
St. Louis Rams
Buccaneers Limited Partnership
Delaware
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tennessee Football, Inc.
Delaware
Tennessee Titans
Washington Football Inc.
Maryland
Washington Redskins
113.
Defendant NFL Properties, LLC as the successor-in-interest to National
Football League Properties Inc. ("NFL Properties") is a limited liability company organized and
existing under the laws of the State of Delaware with its headquarters in the State of New York.
NFL Properties is engaged in, among other activities, approving, licensing and promoting
equipment used by all the National Football League teams. NFL Properties regularly conducts
business in California.
lI4.
Defendants National Football League and NFL Properties shall be referred
to collectively herein as the "NFL" or "League."
115.
The NFL caused or contributed to the injuries alleged herein through its
voluntary undertaking including its acts and omissions in misrepresenting the true risks of
repeated traumatic brain and head impacts in NFL football, and failing to take appropriate steps
to prevent and mitigate repeated traumatic brain and head impacts in the NFL and the latent
neurodegenerative disorders and diseases caused by these impacts.
116.
Third parties that conspired with the NFL in the tortious conduct alleged
herein include but are not limited to the member NFL clubs identified herein and Riddell Inc.,
d.b.a. Riddell Sports Group, Inc.,
All American
Sports Corp.d.b.a. Riddell/All American,
36
Riddell Sports Group, Inc., Easton-Bell Sports, fnc., and Easton-Bell Sports LLC, EB Sports
Corp.
MASS ACTION AND JOINDER ALLEGATIONS
ll7.
Joinder is permissible pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 20(a) in that the claims
alleged herein arise out of the same series of occurrences, and questions of law or fact cornmon
to all Plaintifß arise in this action.
118.
Common questions of law and fact will arise in this action, including but
not limited to:
a.
Whether the NFL, through its own voluntary undertaking, was
negligent in its response to the health effects of repeated head
impacts and the injuries consequently suffered by the Plaintiffs;
b.
Whether $ 301 of the Labor Relations Management Act
preempts Plaintiffs' tort law claims pled herein;
c.
Whether the NFL committed negligence and/or fraud in
misrepresenting the risks of repeated head impacts in NFL play
to the Plaintiffs; and
d.
Whether repeated head impacts during play in the NFL cause
latent neurodegenerative brain disorders and disease.
NATURE OF NFL'S BUSINESS
119.
The primary business in which the NFL and its member clubs are engaged
is the operation of major league professional football teams and the sale of tickets and telecast
rights to the public for the exhibition of the individual and collective football talents of players
such as Plaintiffs.
a-
JI
120.
The NFL's transactions involve collective annual expenditures and
receipts in excess of $9.3 billion. But, as Dan Greeley, CEO of Network Insights, has noted:
The NFL is like Procter & Gamble. There's the holding
company, the core operation, but then each brand has its
own team and world of revenue. Like Tide: That's a P&G
product but within that there are different types of Tide
and a number of people that make money from it. So the
$9.3 billion pie just scratches the surface and doesn't get
into how much is spent around stadiums, merchandise,
agents, all the way down to mom-and-pop shops.
l2l.
Annually, the NFL redistributes upwards of $4 billion in radio, television
and digital earnings to the clubs that are part of the NFL association
-$125
million apiece, plus
an equal share for the league-and that number shows no sign of declining. The 19 highest-rated
fall television programs (and 28 of the top 30) were NFL games, and this year's Super Bowl was
the most-watched program ever. The NFL earns huge amounts annually from its telecasting
deals with, inter alia, ESPN ($1.1
billion), DirecTV ($1 billion), NBC ($650 million), Fox
(8712.5 million), and CBS (56225 million).
I22.
Companies pour money into the league's coffers for the right to associate
their brands with the NFL. Among those making such contributions are Pepsi ($560 million over
eight years, starting in2004) and Gatorade ($45 million ayear,plus marketing costs and free
Gatorade for teams). Verizon is paying $720
service provider. Nike paid $1.1
million over four years to be the league's wireless
billion to acquire the NFL's apparel sponsorship. Previous
partner Reebok had been selling $350 million annually in NFl-themed gear. The League has a
$1.2 billion, six-year deal with beer sponsor Anheuser-Busch, but teams still cut their own deals
when it comes to pouring rights at stadiums. On September 7,2011, it was announced that the
NFL signed
a
new lO-year $2.3 billion deal with Pepsi, which is one of the largest sponsorship
38
deals in sports history.
It encompasses a number of Pepsi brands (Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Tropicana,
Quaker Oats and Gatorade). This deal, combined with a number of other ne\ry sponsorships,
ticket sales projections & TV ratings, means that the NFL is projecting record revenues of over
$9.5 billion this season.
I23.
Teams can collect $25-$30
10-year deals. The largest is Reliant Energy's $10
million for stadium naming rights, usually on
million per year contract with the Houston
Texans. In Los Angeles, Farmers Insurance has promised $700 million over 30 years to name a
stadium for a team that doesn't exist yet.
I24.
Many clubs that are part of the NFL association own in whole or in part
the stadiums in which they play, which can be a source of major commercial value, as reflected
in the following chart:
PRICE
STADIUM, TEAM
OPENEI)
(2010
% PRIVATE
DOLLARS)
New Meadowlands, NY
2010
$1.68
100
Cowboys Stadium, DAL
2009
$l.1sB
56
Lucas Oil Field,IND
2008
s780M
13
U. of Phoenix Stadium, ARI
2006
s493M
32
Lincoln Financial, PHI
2003
$588M
65
Ford Field, DET
2002
$s04M
49
Gillette Stadium, NE
2002
$373M
100
Reliant Stadium, HOU
2002
$s26M
39
39