NATIONAL FOOTBALL § LEAGUE PLAYERS’ CONCUSSION § LITIGATION § ______§ No
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Case:Case 15-2272 2:12-md-02323-AB Document: 003111971246 Document 6551 Page: Filed 1 05/20/15 Date Filed: Page 05/22/2015 1 of 3 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN OF PENNSYLVANIA IN RE: NATIONAL FOOTBALL § LEAGUE PLAYERS’ CONCUSSION § LITIGATION § ____________________________________ § No. 12-md-2323 (AB) § § MDL No. 2323 THIS DOCUMENT RELATES TO: § ALL ACTIONS § NOTICE OF APPEAL Notice hereby is given that Class Members/Objectors Raymond Armstrong, Nathaniel Newton, Jr., Larry Brown, Kenneth Davis, Michael McGruder, Clifton L. Odom, George Teague, Drew Coleman, Dennis DeVaughn, Alvin Harper, Ernest Jones, Michael Kiselak, Jeremy Loyd, Gary Wayne Lewis, Lorenzo Lynch, Hurles Scales, Jr., Gregory Evans, David Mims, Evan Ogelsby, Phillip E. Epps, Charles L. Haley, Sr., Kevin Rey Smith, Darryl Gerard Lewis, Curtis Bernard Wilson, Kelvin Mack Edwards, Sr., Dwayne Levels, Solomon Page, Tim McKyer, Larry Barnes, James Garth Jax, William B. Duff, Mary Hughes, and Barbara Scheer (collectively, the “Armstrong Objectors”) hereby appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit from the (i) April 22, 2015 Memorandum Certifying the Class and Approving Settlement (Doc. No. 6509), (ii) April 22, 2015 Final Order and Judgment (Doc. No. 6510), (iii) May 8, 2015 Amended Final Order and Judgment (Doc. No. 6534), (iv) May 11, 2015 Order (Doc. No. 6535), and all orders and opinions merged therein. The Armstrong Objectors appeal all orders and judgments approving the class settlement, amended class settlement, class counsel’s attorneys’ fees and expenses, any incentive awards to the class representatives, and any order or judgment naming or identifying any Armstrong 1 ARMSTRONG OBJECTORS’ NOTICE OF APPEAL 1 of 157 Case:Case 15-2272 2:12-md-02323-AB Document: 003111971246 Document 6551 Page: Filed 2 05/20/15 Date Filed: Page 05/22/2015 2 of 3 Objector and/or the Armstrong Objectors’ September 3, 2014 Objection (Doc. No. 6353), October 14, 2014 Amended Objection (Doc. No. 6233), and/or April 13, 2015 Supplemental Objection (Doc. No. 6503). Date: May 20, 2015 Respectfully submitted, /s/ Richard L. Coffman Richard L. Coffman THE COFFMAN LAW FIRM 505 Orleans St., Ste. 505 Beaumont, TX 77701 Telephone: (409) 833-7700 Facsimile: (866) 835-8250 Email: [email protected] Mitchell A. Toups WELLER,GREEN,TOUPS &TERRELL,LLP 2615 Calder Ave., Suite 400 Beaumont, TX 77702 Telephone: (409) 838-0101 Facsimile: (409) 838-6780 Email: [email protected] Jason Webster THE WEBSTER LAW FIRM 6200 Savoy, Suite 515 Houston, TX 77036 Telephone: (713) 581-3900 Facsimile: (713) 409-6464 Email: [email protected] Mike Warner THE WARNER LAW FIRM 101 Southeast 11th Suite 301 Amarillo, TX 79101 Telephone: (806) 372-2595 Email: [email protected] COUNSEL FOR THE ARMSTRONG OBJECTORS 2 ARMSTRONG OBJECTORS’ NOTICE OF APPEAL 2 of 157 Case:Case 15-2272 2:12-md-02323-AB Document: 003111971246 Document 6551 Page: Filed 3 05/20/15 Date Filed: Page 05/22/2015 3 of 3 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I certify that a true copy of the Armstrong Objectors’ Notice of Appeal was served on all counsel of record, via the Court’s ECF system, on May 20, 2015. /s/ Richard L. Coffman Richard L. Coffman 3 ARMSTRONG OBJECTORS’ NOTICE OF APPEAL 3 of 157 Case:Case 15-2272 2:12-md-02323-AB Document: 003111971247 Document 6535 Page: Filed 1 05/11/15 Date Filed: Page 05/22/2015 1 of 2 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA IN RE: NATIONAL FOOTBALL No. 2:12-md-02323-AB LEAGUE PLAYERS’ CONCUSSION INJURY LITIGATION MDL No. 2323 Kevin Turner and Shawn Wooden, on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. National Football League and NFL Properties, LLC, successor-in-interest to NFL Properties, Inc., Defendants. THIS DOCUMENT RELATES TO: ALL ACTIONS ORDER1 AND NOW, this _11th ___ day of _May_, 2015, it is ORDERED that the Amended Final Order and Judgment, dated May 8, 2015, is clarified as follows: Paragraph 16 dismisses with prejudice all Related Lawsuits pending in the Court in which Releasors are the only named plaintiffs and Released Parties are the only named defendants. In all other Related Lawsuits pending in the Court, all Released Claims against the Released Parties are dismissed with prejudice. All other terms of the Amended Final Order and Judgment remain unchanged. 1 Unless otherwise noted, the terms used in this Order that are defined in the Settlement Agreement have the same meanings in this Order as in the Settlement Agreement. 1 4 of 157 Case:Case 15-2272 2:12-md-02323-AB Document: 003111971247 Document 6535 Page: Filed 2 05/11/15 Date Filed: Page 05/22/2015 2 of 2 s/Anita B. Brody __________________________ ANITA B. BRODY, J. Copies VIA ECF on ________ to: Copies MAILED on_______ to: 2 5 of 157 Case:Case 15-2272 2:12-md-02323-AB Document: 003111971248 Document 6534 Page: Filed 1 05/08/15 Date Filed: Page 05/22/2015 1 of 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA : No. 2:12-md-02323-AB IN RE: NATIONAL FOOTBALL : LEAGUE PLAYERS’ CONCUSSION : MDL No. 2323 INJURY LITIGATION : : : Kevin Turner and Shawn Wooden, : on behalf of themselves and : others similarly situated, : Plaintiffs, : : v. : : National Football League and : NFL Properties, LLC, : successor-in-interest to : NFL Properties, Inc., : Defendants. : : : THIS DOCUMENT RELATES TO: : ALL ACTIONS : : AMENDED FINAL ORDER AND JUDGMENT1 AND NOW, this 8th day of MAY , 2015, in accordance with the Court’s Memorandum (ECF. No. 6509), it is ORDERED: 1. The Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of this action. 2. The Court certifies the Settlement Class and Subclasses under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. 1 Unless otherwise noted, the terms used in this Order that are defined in the Settlement Agreement have the same meanings in this Order as in the Settlement Agreement. 6 of 157 Case:Case 15-2272 2:12-md-02323-AB Document: 003111971248 Document 6534 Page: Filed 2 05/08/15 Date Filed: Page 05/22/2015 2 of 8 The Settlement Class is defined as follows: (i) All living NFL Football Players who, prior to the date of the Preliminary Approval and Class Certification Order, retired, formally or informally, from playing professional football with the NFL or any Member Club, including American Football League, World League of American Football, NFL Europe League and NFL Europa League players, or were formerly on any roster, including preseason, regular season, or postseason, of any such Member Club or league and who no longer are under contract to a Member Club and are not seeking active employment as players with any Member Club, whether signed to a roster or signed to any practice squad, developmental squad, or taxi squad of a Member Club (“Retired NFL Football Players”); and (ii) Authorized representatives, ordered by a court or other official of competent jurisdiction under applicable state law, of deceased or legally incapacitated or incompetent Retired NFL Football Players (“Representative Claimants”); and (iii) Spouses, parents, children who are dependents, or any other persons who properly under applicable state law assert the right to sue independently or derivatively by reason of their relationship with a Retired NFL Football Player or deceased Retired NFL Football Player (“Derivative Claimants”). The Subclasses are defined as follows: (i) “Subclass 1” means Retired NFL Football Players who were not diagnosed with a Qualifying Diagnosis prior to the date of the Preliminary Approval and Class Certification Order and their Representative Claimants and Derivative Claimants. (ii) “Subclass 2” means Retired NFL Football Players who were diagnosed with a Qualifying Diagnosis prior to the date of the Preliminary Approval and Class Certification Order and their Representative Claimants and Derivative Claimants, and the Representative Claimants of deceased Retired NFL Football Players who were diagnosed with a Qualifying Diagnosis prior to death or who died prior to the date of the Preliminary Approval and Class Certification Order and who received a post-mortem diagnosis of CTE. 3. The Court finds that the Settlement Class satisfies the applicable prerequisites for class action treatment under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23(a) and (b). The Settlement Class Members are so numerous that their joinder is impracticable. There are questions of law and fact common to the Class and Subclasses. The claims of the Class Representatives and Subclass Representatives are typical of the Settlement Class Members and the respective Subclass Members. The Class Representatives and Subclass Representatives and 2 7 of 157 Case:Case 15-2272 2:12-md-02323-AB Document: 003111971248 Document 6534 Page: Filed 3 05/08/15 Date Filed: Page 05/22/2015 3 of 8 Co-Lead Class Counsel, Class Counsel and Subclass Counsel have fairly and adequately represented and protected the interests of all Settlement Class Members. The questions of law or fact common to the Class and Subclasses predominate over any questions affecting only individual Settlement Class Members, and a class action is superior to other available methods for the fair and efficient adjudication of the controversy. 4. The Court finds that the dissemination of the Settlement Class Notice and the publication of the Summary Notice were implemented in accordance with the Order granting preliminary approval, and satisfy the requirements of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23(c)(2)(B) and 23(e), the United States Constitution and other applicable laws and rules, and constituted the best notice practicable under the circumstances. The Notice given by the NFL Parties to state and federal officials pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1715 fully satisfied the requirements of that statute. 5. The Court confirms the appointment of Shawn Wooden and Kevin Turner as Class Representatives and Shawn Wooden as Subclass 1 Representative and Kevin Turner as Subclass 2 Representative.