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