Via PFT. The headline refers to it as “the Brady case” because Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Von Miller (yes, the player from Texas A&M), and a couple others have attached their names to the lawsuit. I don’t know why Florio thinks a liberal judge would automatically be more favorable to the players, especially since the lawyer who defended Gore in Bush v. Gore is taking point for the NFL.
The case was always going to land in Doty's court simply because the subject matter is involved in a case he is already handling, that is to say, a Judgment he is administering, the 1993 Anti Trust lawsuit the NFL lost, Brady et al makes claims that are under Doty's purview. Keep in mind though, Doty can really drop the hammer on the NFL for the TV agreement, he found the NFL has violated the 1993 agreement, which means he can order damages be paid to the players directly from that TV contract fund, he can even simply instate the agreement from 2010 in 2011. That verdict in 1993 was a real problem for the NFL which makes what they tried even more odd.
You'll see, they are going to motion to put into Doty's court as he has purview over this..or should. Why would the Judge wish to handle a case from scratch when Doty has been dealing with this for over 15 yrs?
Rotation ain't what you think Des, it is not a guarentee that the judge who has the case will keep it, there will be motions made to put it into Doty's court and very little reason why it shouldn't be in his court. Look at it this way, the Judge will know this case will take up much of their time in court for months and months as evidence is offered, in Doty's court the facts are already established and he has knowledge of the subject, that and tbh, most judges do not like high profile cases..they get asked about them while out to dinner and pisses the wife off..
Which is the premise of the article. The judge it was initially assigned to recused himself. Will the players file a motion to transfer to another judge? Sure. Will it be granted? Probably not.
It’s not a matter of Doty being “better” or having more history with football cases. The NFLPA* (thanks, Florio) would have to prove that the current judge would not be fair or has a conflict of interest in presiding over the case. Judge shopping is tough.
Not really Des, as I said, you will see. Let me add, when this does wind up in Doty's court, do not be surprised if the NFL moves for recusal on the basis of the atty they hired worked on the original Reggie White case back in 1992 that has given, or will give, jurisdiction to Doty.
