A federal judge recently dismissed most of the claims arising from allegations that NFL teams improperly provided painkillers to players. The plaintiffs have commenced the process of appealing the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
A publicly-available document obtained by Alex Marvez of SportingNews.com indicates that the lawyers representing all plaintiffs have requested a final order documenting the dismissed claims and staying the remaining claims so that an appeal can be pursued before the case proceeds. Basically, the plaintiffs want to be able to fight the order dismissing most of the claims before the leftover claims go forward.
In the formal motion presented to the court, the plaintiffs state that the defendants oppose the effort.
A hearing has been set for June 29. If successful, an appeal will proceed immediately. If unsuccessful, the appeal rights wouldn’t be eligible for pursuit until after the remaining claims from two players — Alphonso Carreker and Reggie Walker — are fully resolved by the presiding judge.
The Ninth Circuit court of appeals generally is regarded as among the most liberal and, in turn, friendly to the rights of individuals over large companies, in the nation. So even though the presiding judge ruled against most of the plaintiffs, the appeal will have a better chance of prevailing in the Ninth Circuit than in most if not all other circuits.