Per PFT: Judge Doty rules owners violated the CBA

[Deus Irae]

Brian Murphy of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that Judge David Doty has ruled that the NFL violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement by striking deals with television networks that require ongoing payments to the league during a work stoppage.

Judge Doty has ordered another hearing to determine whether the players’ remedy will be financial damages or an injunction preventing the league from pocketing the money during a lockout.

Judge Doty sides with players in “lockout insurance” case | ProFootballTalk


It could be a huge win for the NFLPA, if Doty goes the injunction route as the remedy.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

that is the only way this gets resolved quickly, the old owners wanted to shut down the leauge and break the players , but D smith is not messing around ... but as fans i think the only way the leauge continues is the whole mess goes to court and get it settled that way..

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Judge Doty sides with players in “lockout insurance” case | ProFootballTalk


It could be a huge win for the NFLPA, if Doty goes the injunction route as the remedy.

He's only step 2 in a process that can wind on for months. Last month Special Master Burbank was a huge win for the league. Doty doesn't have the final say, he's just the first step in an appeals process. The league wasn't going to see that money until September anyway. This just insures more of the lawyers see more of it...

 

[DaBruinz]

I'll be honest. I'm not even sure why Doty ruled on it since, if the union decertifies, then he no longer has any say on the matter. And even if he says that the money has to be put into escrow, its only applicable if there IS a union.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I'll be honest. I'm not even sure why Doty ruled on it since, if the union decertifies, then he no longer has any say on the matter. And even if he says that the money has to be put into escrow, its only applicable if there IS a union.

Not sure where you're getting that from. I believe if they decertify, and that happens before the expiration of the CBA, Doty remains in play. If they don't, and the league locks the players out after the CBA expires, Doty is off the books. But again, this will all get appealed beyond Judge Doty's court anyway.

 

[upstater1]

The NFL expected this anyway, the NFL lawyers did. The only thing an appeal would serve would be to string this along and delay. The NFL knew that this money was a means of circumventing collective bargaining. It's pretty obvious. I bet you no NFL owner is surprised by this ruling.

 

[Triumph]

This just insures more of the lawyers see more of it...

Once this thing lands in the courts we are screwed.

Nothing moves fast there.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Once this thing lands in the courts we are screwed.

Nothing moves fast there.

Actually that's the tough part for the players, not the owners. Last time we got to this stage the league operated on the owners terms without a CBA for 6 years while cases dragged through the courts. Once it became clear there would be some form of FA, the union recertified and the league entered into the CBA of 1993. The only really onerous part of which was it came with Judge Doty attached to it. He's so pro union he ruled that Vick should retain his $20M of disputed signing bonus even though he was unavailable to play due to federal incarceration...

The owners know this time they have to insist on a deal they and the players can live with. Caving the one and only time they ever did is what has led us to this...

 

[The Boston Patriot]

Until Doty is gone their will be no agreement. The owners will not accept his
presence any longer. If the PA insists on trying to keep him involved then
this will be a really, really, long and fruitless road for the players. There is no
way Doty is going to be involved with the NFL in the future.

 

[BlueString94]

These money-grabbing owners are starting to piss me off. How greedy can a human being get? I know, the players get paid a lot of money too, but their career and future can go down the drain at any given moment.

It's millions vs. billions. The billions should GTFO.

 

[Miguel]

http://images.nflplayers.com/mediaResources/files/Lockout Insurance Case Decision.pdf

is the ruling.

 

[Deus Irae]

http://images.nflplayers.com/mediaResources/files/Lockout Insurance Case Decision.pdf

is the ruling.

Very interesting reading.

 

[DaBruinz]

I find it interesting that Doty hammers the special master for " importing corporate law to a sui generis agreement" yet, most of the references that he uses later are Corporate Law.

It will interesting to see how things continue.

 

[The Boston Patriot]

I find it interesting that Doty hammers the special master for " importing corporate law to a sui generis agreement" yet, most of the references that he uses later are Corporate Law.

It will interesting to see how things continue.

Doty never saw a union argument that he couldn't support. He is supposed to
be more than a shill for the union and was put in this position to represent the
interests of both sides. That never happened, and will never happen if he is
allowed to continue in his role. The NFL can not tolerate his presence any
longer, so buckle up if there is any chance he continues in his role. This will
get real ugly, real fast.

 

[The Boston Patriot]

These money-grabbing owners are starting to piss me off. How greedy can a human being get? I know, the players get paid a lot of money too, but their career and future can go down the drain at any given moment.

It's millions vs. billions. The billions should GTFO.

You need a lot more knowledge to comprehend what is going on here. I hope
for your sake you never own a business because you will last about one month
tops running one.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Doty never saw a union argument that he couldn't support. He is supposed to
be more than a shill for the union and was put in this position to represent the
interests of both sides. That never happened, and will never happen if he is
allowed to continue in his role. The NFL can not tolerate his presence any
longer, so buckle up if there is any chance he continues in his role. This will
get real ugly, real fast.

I never realized that federal court judges were allowed to hang around into infinity...and dabble in cases at full salary even after they had been actively replaced on the court. That's some retirement program. Doty is 82...and the SSA has been his baby for 18 years... They should lock him and Ralph in a room and let them slug it out...LOL

 

[BradyFTW!]

These money-grabbing owners are starting to piss me off. How greedy can a human being get? I know, the players get paid a lot of money too, but their career and future can go down the drain at any given moment.

It's millions vs. billions. The billions should GTFO.

They didn't become billionaires by not taking all of the money they could get their hands on.

 

[upstater1]

Doty never saw a union argument that he couldn't support. He is supposed to
be more than a shill for the union and was put in this position to represent the
interests of both sides. That never happened, and will never happen if he is
allowed to continue in his role. The NFL can not tolerate his presence any
longer, so buckle up if there is any chance he continues in his role. This will
get real ugly, real fast.

Oh come on!

This was a clear work around for the NFL. The networks gave them that money clearly as part of the total package. The NFL knew the CBA was a problem prior to the last TV negotiations. When the networks did the contracts, this number was already figured into the total package. Networks are not in the business of paying billions of dollars for nothing. That's not the way they do business. This was nothing more than attempt to leverage the lockout against the players. How else do you want him to rule?

 

[Deus Irae]

Doty never saw a union argument that he couldn't support. He is supposed to be more than a shill for the union and was put in this position to represent the interests of both sides. That never happened, and will never happen if he is allowed to continue in his role. The NFL can not tolerate his presence any longer, so buckle up if there is any chance he continues in his role. This will get real ugly, real fast.

Why would it get ugly? Why would you call out Doty on this? The NFL clearly set this in play. The facts make that indisputable. The only question is whether or not the actions taken by the NFL were of a legitimate nature. Doty ruled that they weren't, and he'll either be upheld or overruled. Either way, Doty isn't the issue here.

 

[BlueString94]

They didn't become billionaires by not taking all of the money they could get their hands on.

True. Unfortunate truth about society I guess.

There is more at stake here though. They're pretty set financially, but football is a huge part of this country. They're obliged to give to the populace.