Smith, Fujita and Hargrove to file suit by Thursday
 

Next phase of bounty case will focus on claim Goodell wasn
Now that Commissioner Roger Goodell has ruled on the bounty appeals, the ball is back in the players’ court. And they plan to aim it directly at Commissioner Roger Goodell.

To little surprise, the players whose suspensions became official on Tuesday will file a lawsuit challenging the ruling. Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma already has. A source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that Saints defensive end Will Smith, Packers defensive end Anthony Hargrove, and Browns linebacker Scott Fujita will do the same by Thursday.

The effort will commence, as we previously have explained, with a StarCaps-style effort to block the suspensions until the litigation is resolved. The lawsuit itself will assert that Goodell lacked the requisite impartiality to serve as the arbitrator.

It’s one of the four ways that an arbitration award can be overturned in a court of law, where judges don’t substitute their own judgment but where judges ensure that the arbitrator acted fairly and properly. In this specific case, the players will point to Goodell’s public statements regarding the bounty case as proof that he made up his mind before assuming the role of judge and jury in the appeal process.

The lawsuit also will target the league’s failure to produce within 72 hours before the June 18 appeal hearing the exhibits to be introduced, based on the requirement in the CBA that all exhibits be exchanged within three days before the hearing.

Many will be inclined to fault the players and the NFLPA for taking this approach, arguing that the players should accept the process for which their union bargained under the CBA. But they bargained for a fair and impartial process; if they didn’t get it, they have every right to fight the suspensions on that basis.

.... and the legal song and dance continues

About damn time they followed Vilma!

Goodell may be broke by the time it is all said and done!

Starcaps was different. The NFL broke state laws. That's why it took so long. It would have to be something along those lines to suspend it. Speaking of Starcaps, I still have not found anything stating what happened to the NFL for breaking a state law..did they pay a fine, did the judge dismiss it....couldn't find anything.

The issue I see with this however is the NFL broke rules within the agreement. Once you do that it opens the door for a breach of contract, even if minor, that could have had an effect on the outcome. It's a stretch but that seems like what the players have to work with.

The three day (72 hour) issue could be the initial crack a court needs to open the whole thing up.

The NFL delayed the hearing a few hours, but the player's attorneys could argue that the venue did not allow preparations even with the minimal delay. The delay was basically an attempt to meet the terms of the CBA that had been disregarded.

This is going to get interesting.

Lets end all of this, we have camps opening up soon.

Agreed. :( Minicamps have come and gone.:mad:

Worse case, or best case, depending on how you look at it, a judge could rule that the NFL start the whole process over and put all suspensions on hold.

They need Jackie Chiles

I understand and respect what you and Old Maid have to say, but I have to disagree.
This has been the worst off season in history but not bad enough to let it just go away. We have a reputation to uphold.
We are a clean honorable team with high moral values. Anthing else just looks bad.:saintsfan:
EDIT: We have a high character locker room. Teams like that don't resort to these tactics.....even GW and Roger Godhell can't destroy the integrity of this team.