Forum » within the jurisdiction of the courts

First, it was Gary Leeman and friends who filed a concussion class action lawsuit against the NHL. Nike Air Max Plus Rea . On Thursday, I broke the story that a second concussion lawsuit was filed against the NHL. A copy of the lawsuit can be found here. There are nine plaintiffs in this latest lawsuit against the league: Dan LaCouture, Dan Keczmer, Jack Carlson, Richard Brennan, Brad Maxwell, Michael Peluso, Tom Younghans, Allan Rourke and Scott Bailey. These are not household or brand names, and for casual fans, the only recognizable names may be Peluso, and to a lesser extent, LaCouture. The lawsuit alleges fraudulent concealment. In particular, the players complain that the league knew of the long-term neurological impact of repeated headshots and elected not to share that information with the players. By not revealing that information, players did not have an opportunity to make an informed decision about playing in the NHL. As was the case with the over 200 NFL concussion lawsuits filed, concealment is a critical component of this lawsuit. The players are also alleging that the NHL was negligent in the way it handled the welfare of players. The lawsuit states that the NHL fostered and promoted a culture of violence with a view to generating revenue. In doing so, the league failed to institute reasonable safeguards and protocols to protect its players from head trauma. By failing to protect the players from the risks and consequences of headshots, the league failed to discharge a legal duty owed to its players. Like concussion lawsuits generally, this one faces challenges. The first is causation. In order to get paid, the plaintiffs are going to have to show that the brain damage they suffered was caused at the NHL level. On the flip side, the NHL will point out that no one can say for sure what caused a players neurological condition, and even if it was caused by repeated headshots while playing hockey, how much of that damage was sustained while in the NHL and not in places like the AHL, CHL or Europe. So what caused the damage and when it was caused become critically important issues. Brennan played 50 NHL games, while Rourke and Bailey played 55 and 19 NHL games respectively. With so few NHL games played, its going to be tough for these plaintiffs to show that the NHL is responsible for their brain damage. As well, Peluso played 458 NHL games. He also played over 250 games outside the NHL during his professional career. Can you say definitively that the damage was sustained at the NHL level? Not easy. The league will also take the position that it didnt conceal any information. They will say that there wasnt any conclusive science at the time and they had the same information the players had. Basically, they will say we knew what you knew. That being the case, the league will then maintain that the players were aware of the risk associated with playing hockey based on the science at that time, and agreed to those risks each time they stepped onto the ice. This legal principle is called informed consent. The NHL could also maintain that this lawsuit doesnt belong in court in the first place, but rather should go to arbitration. The collective bargaining agreement provides that issues of player health and safety go to arbitration and not court. On the flip side, the players would take the position that since this case involves fraud, it properly falls outside of arbitration and within the jurisdiction of the courts. So the bottom line is this: the players will need to provide good evidence showing that the league concealed the harmful impact of repeated headshots. If they dont have that evidence, they will have a very difficult time. On top of that, they will need to deal with the very tricky issue of causation. The way the lawsuit itself was drafted is a bit unusual. It provides that Gordie Howe is dead (hes not) and misspells Sidney Crosbys name (Sydney). It also makes reference to movies, including Gladiator, Youngblood and Friday the 13th. This is atypical. The lawsuit also relies on the concussion history of other players as support for the position that the game inflicts permanent neurological damage. In part, the lawyers point to players like Marc Savard, Nick Kypreos, Geoff Courtnall, Petr Svoboda, Keith Primeau, Pat LaFontaine, Tony Granato and Paul Kariya as having suffered long-term damage. However, this doesnt necessarily belong in this type of document. It looks more like evidence that needs to be presented at trial. So the lawsuit is perhaps atypical in the way it was drafted. From a legal standpoint, these inaccuracies may not ultimately hurt the merits of the lawsuit. These things can be corrected. However, it may undermine the credibility of the claims being made. As well, and perhaps more importantly, the whole idea with a class action lawsuit is to recruit other players. Its possible that other players may not feel entirely comfortable with this particular lawsuit given the oversights in the document. Still, there is time to right the ship and this lawsuit has some good lawyers associated with it. As far as next steps, the NHL will do what the NFL has done in the past: go to court and ask a judge to punt this lawsuit. Assuming the lawsuit is not dismissed, we are still years away from a resolution. One more thing: while this is the second NHL concussion lawsuit filed to date, it likely wont be the last. Expect to see more of them filed. Nike Air Max 97 Dam Sverige . Saltalamacchia has agreed to a $21 million, three-year deal with the Miami Marlins, two people familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday. Nike Air Max 270 Rabatt . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. http://www.reaairmaxsverige.com/air-max-97-rabatt.html . Less than 24 hours after the Wolves lost at home to the Mavericks, 100-98, NBA president of basketball operations Rod Thorn announced Tuesday that Kevin Love was fouled on his right arm by Shawn Marion in the closing seconds and should have been awarded two free throws.Jose Mourinho has agreed personal terms with Manchester United, according to Sky sources. The Portugueses agent, Jorge Mendes, and United executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, are meeting in London for face-to-face talks over the remaining unresolved issues in contract negotiations.These include a number of image rights issues, which must be resolved before a contract can be signed, such as Mourinhos commercial deal with Jaguar - a conflict of interest due to Uniteds sponsorship with car-maker Chevrolet. Carlo Ancelotti explains why Jose Mourinho suits a club the size of Manchester United SSNHQ understands the length of Mourinhos contract and his salary have been agreed after positive talks between Woodward and Mendes via telephone and email.However, dialogue is set to continue in person regarding the image rights conflicts, and it remains unclear whether or not these issues will be concluded in time for Mourinho to put pen to paper on his contract on Wednesday. Jose wants to retain Giggs Giggs will be offered coaching role by Mourinho Both United and Mourinho are tied to numerous commercial partnerships, and must pay careful consideration to the pre-existing commitments to their respective sponsors when Mourinho becomes Uniteds manager.There is common ground for Mourinho and United in their respective deals with Adidas. The incoming United manager is a global ambassador for the kit suppliers, whose £750m, 10-year deal with United, came into effect in 2015. How busy will Mourinho be at Manchester United during this summers transfer window? Mendes, Woodward, and both sets of legal teams are continuing to work on how they can keep their respective sponsors happy, and those talks will continue on Wednesday. Nike Air Max 97 Sverige. inding a resolution to these issues is said to be the final hurdle to overcome before Mourinho is officially confirmed as Uniteds next manager. Where does Mourinhos imminent appointment at Manchester United leave assistant manager Ryan Giggs? Also See: Mourinho to Man Utd LIVE! Schmeichel: Giggs should leave Bruce critical of Utd over LVG Cantona: Utd have wrong man ' ' '