Judge rejects NFL push to force insurers to pay for concussion settlement, 13-year-old case could be headed to trial
The settlement recently passed $1.5 billion in payouts to retirees
A New York state court judge rejected the NFL’s legal push to compel a group of insurers to pay for the $1.5 billion concussion settlement, setting up the 13-year-old case for possible trial later this year.
The judge, Andrea Masley, also rejected the insurers’ companion summary judgment motion to have her rule before trial that they did not have to cover the settlement. The rulings could mean the league’s controversial history of managing concussions and other head injuries, which the NFL has sought aggressively to keep out of a trial setting, could be headed to one. Of course, the league may settle the case before it gets that far.
The NFL has already settled with many of the 30 plus insurers in the case, but has been unable to reach terms with TIG Insurance Company, United States Fire Insurance Company, and The North River Insurance Company.
The NFL sued its insurers in 2012 preemptively when the first wave of former players began filing head injury claims against the league, seeking legal certainty that any payouts to retirees would be covered by insurance. The insurers counter sued. The league reached a class action settlement with the former players three years later, before discovery could commence in those cases.
The insurers have a few central arguments for why they should not have to cover the payouts: the league knew about the risks of head injuries from playing football; the league had a strong legal defense to the former players’ complaints but settled for public relations reasons; the insurers never approved the settlement; the science is unsettled linking head injuries to football; and the insurers should not have to cover injuries that did not manifest during the coverage period.
“Here the court simply cannot conclude from the submissions that coverage has been established as a matter of law,” Masley wrote. “The report of the NFL Parties’ expert does not definitively establish bodily injuries caused by an occurrence during the policy periods. In fact, the expert expressly states that he offers no opinion on whether any of the Player’s participation in professional football involved head impacts that were the factual cause of that individuals diagnosed neurodegenerative disease.”
The NFL initially projected the settlement would pay out $1 billion over the 65-year life of the deal. But 10 years in, the figure is $1.5 billion, though advances in equipment like helmets, and changes to playing rules, may significantly shrink the pool of retirees that have cause to dip into the settlement.
Judge Masley set a May 21 trial scheduling conference, and notably ruled motions in limine are due June 9. Motions in limine are asks by the parties to exclude certain witness testimony and documents. Such motions are typically due in the months before a trial.
Given the NFL’s disdain for the transparency that comes with a public court room, there remains a solid chance the parties settle.