Dave Pear's Blog

We uploaded a 78-page copy of this recent Wrongful Termination to Scribd for easy viewing on our Blog and to make it available for downloading and printing. You can also click the Enlarge icon in the lower right corner of the menu at the bottom of the viewing screen to go Full Screen for easier reading (just hit the ESC key to close):

Jon T. King vs Hausfeld LLP

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Wearing my Riddell helmet

To My Fellow Retired Players,
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There are so many law firms who recently have filed concussion lawsuits since my attorneys originally filed the first two lawsuits EVER on concussions. I am glad to see that others have joined this litigation to hold the NFL accountable for hiding the long term risks of brain injury from all of us.
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In my opinion, if you have cognitive problems, you should join one of these lawsuits.
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The unique thing about the lawsuits being filed by my attorneys is that they ALSO sue Riddell and NFL Properties. This is something others have chosen not to do so far. I’ve also signed with Hausfeld LLP in their lawsuit against the NFLPA.
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In the end, let’s hope all these attorneys will unite and work together for the many debilitated retirees and are successful for each of us in the end. And I truly hope that we will also collect from Riddell for their part on the concussion epidemic.
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For more information, you’re welcome to contact my attorney, Jason Luckasevic, at (412) 338-9460 or (412) 400-6570 or e-mail him at jluckasevic@gpwlaw.com
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Regards,
Dave & Heidi Pear
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We also received this word of caution from Jim Mitchell at Hausfeld LLP regarding the growing number of law firms and the various claims of being lead attorneys. This is advice well worth following:
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Dear Retired Players:
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In order to clear up some misinformation that is currently being circulated within the retired players community about the concussion suits, please be advised that if you have signed onto a concussion suit with one firm, it is important not to sign up with a second firm. All of the personal injury concussion suits will be consolidated in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and a leadership structure for all the cases will be established by the Court. If any law firm is advising you that they are the “lead” firm in the concussion matter, please be advised that this is untrue. NO single law firm has been granted leadership of the concussion matters despite rumors to the contrary. To date, 29 different concussion suits have been filed. A leadership structure is currently being negotiated by numerous firms and will likely result in a joint leadership role for many of the firms involved.
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Hausfeld continues to press ahead with its own personal injury concussion case (Boyd v. NFL) which was filed on behalf of over 100 former players.
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Hausfeld will be amending its concussion complaint in the next week or so and will add any and all former players who have not yet signed onto a case.
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If you have any questions or would like to know if you have previously signed onto a concussion suit, please call me at (202) 540-7148 to discuss. Hausfeld maintains a master list of ALL former players who have signed onto a concussion case, whether it is with Hausfeld or another law firm.
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Thank you.
Jim Mitchell
Hausfeld, LLP
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We now have a publicly available copy of the Settlement Agreement details and the subsequent Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) made when the CBA was ratified. The individual active players (Brady et al) agreed to drop their suits that were filed against the NFL when the Union decertified during the lockout. We’re posting this for weekend reading and look forward to your comments and observations. Note that it was Jeffrey Kessler who filed this without any seal.
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We’ve uploaded the entire 201-page document to Scribd for easy viewing and to make it downloadable for printing. You can also click the Enlarge icon in the center of the menu at the bottom of the viewing screen to go Full Screen for easier reading (and just hit the ESC key to close):
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Brady Settlement for 2011 NFL/NFLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement
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You would think that the NFLPA would have learned by now that any time they let attorney Jeffrey Kessler into a lawsuit, they may as well count on things taking longer and costing more. In case there are still some of you out there who aren’t familiar with Kessler, he represented the NFLPA in the Player’s Inc. lawsuit when retired players sued the union and their “Licensing Arm” for past video game royalties that the Union had intentionally defrauded from its players for years. Kessler and his firm were paid handsomely for losing the case that awarded $28 million+ in royalties and damages awarded to the players. And his brilliant answer to losing the case before then-newly-appointed Executive Director DeMaurice Smith (and white collar crime attorney) decided to settle the case? Appeal.
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So then Kessler gets into the middle of the NBA lockout to “represent” the players and that drags into basketball season. Here’s a recent article from ProFootball Talk that pretty much sums up what everyone thinks of Kessler: Click HERE.
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The question we have to ask is: What have they got to hide? Or more to the point: What does Kessler personally have to hide? In any problem, you’re either part of the solution or you’re part of the problem. We think Kessler and his group ARE the problem.
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So last week on Dec. 2nd after much posturing from both sides, Judge Susan Nelson allowed a Motion to seal all further filings and proceedings in the current class action suits filed against the NFLPA, Tom Brady, Mike Vrabel and DeMaurice Smith.
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We’ve uploaded Judge Nelson’s order along with the pleadings from both sides to Scribd for easy viewing and to make it downloadable for printing.) Shawn Stuckey’s detailed arguments and the attached Exhibits make for some good reading. Great job, Shawn!) You can also click the Enlarge icon in the center of the menu at the bottom of the viewing screen to go Full Screen for easier reading (and just hit the ESC key to close):
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Both the NFLPA and George Martin’s NFL Alumni have been trying to take credit for everything being offered to retired players from the new CBA. In the meanwhile, they’ve also done their best to ignore what retired players have actually been demanding long before this current CBA while never really putting their cards on the table about what it is that they’ve actually decided for retirees – without their direct input. The Union simply refused to be in the same room while discussions were being held directly with Commissioner Goodell and now they continue to play a let’s-wait-and-see attitude by blaming the League for holding up the final agreement. And they continue to take credit for the wonderful things they’ve done for retirees all while they weren’t a Union (during de-certification!).
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Meanwhile, back at the Alumni ranch, George Martin’s $250,000+ annual salary and bonuses are apparently not enough so he also had to do some endorsement work. George has been driving around in a brand-new $65,000+ Cadillac Platinum Edition Escalade ESV for the last week or so since the Alumni Golf Tournament tweeting all about his praises for his loaner wheels much to the delight of Government Motors. (Read the official NFL Alumni Press Release by clicking HERE.) FOX Sports’ Alex Marvez had a few more words to say about that ride:
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NFLPA 2012 Florida Convention

The NFLPA just announced their 2012 convention to be held once again at the Marco Island Marriott in Florida next March. Retired players are also invited to actually mingle with active players for $250 a night! Lots of golf, fine dining and everything else… except talking about the real issues that retired players actually need to have addressed.
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So with all the lawyers that work over at the NFLPA, it seems that the only thing that gets their attention is another good lawsuit. Today, the attorneys in the earlier Eller suit – Hausfeld LLP, Zelle Hofmann, Arthur N. Bailey & Associates, Coburn & Greenbaum – filed another class action suit on behalf of retired players against the NFLPA, DeMaurice Smith, Tom Brady and Mike Vrabel. The new suit includes a new list of players – Dave is included as one of the named plaintiffs – along with an additional list of key issues that the PA will need to address.
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We’ve uploaded a copy of the new 44-page Lawsuit to Scribd for easy viewing and to make it downloadable for printing. You can also click the Enlarge icon in the center of the menu at the bottom of the viewing screen to go Full Screen for easier reading (and just hit the ESC key to close):
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Gault McElhenney Brown Et Al v NFLPA
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Some reading material for your weekend. We have a recent newsletter from Hausfeld LLP and Zelle Hofmann that provides an update on much of what’s been happening with the retired players’ lawsuit as well as recent information and links of interest to football players and fans alike regarding concussions. They also provide some straight-forward analysis of the new CBA and how it will affect retirees’ benefits that you probably won’t be hearing from the NFLPA any time soon.
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And Sports Life Magazine’s Rick Kelsheimer spoke with us last month about Dave’s long battle with the NFL and the NFLPA and was gracious enough to provide us with an advance copy of his story that will appear in the October 2011 edition.
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We uploaded full copies of the newsletter and the Sports Life article to Scribd for easy viewing and to make it downloadable for printing. You can also click the Enlarge icon in the center of the menu at the bottom of the viewing screen to go Full Screen for easier reading (just hit the ESC key to close): continue reading »

As many of you know by now, Fred Dryer is one of the lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the NFL and NFL Films. Many of the retired players have been wanting to know more details on how that lawsuit has been progressing. So earlier today, we had a conversation with Fred and a few of the other players involved in that litigation to hear more of what has been happening so far.
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“The plaintiffs in Dryer vs NFL fired Bucky Zimmerman and Zimmerman Reed for cause.
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“We felt that he lied to us and we had lost our trust with him and his firm.
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“We were fortunate to have retained Bob Stein and Tom Ward and it allowed them to bring Michael Hausfeld and Zelle Hoffman Voelbel & Mason on board in a timely and professional fashion.”
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In case some of you missed it last year, there was a lawsuit filed on behalf of all retired football players to recover royalties from the NFL and NFL Films for re-packaging and distributing footage of games from years past. The suit was initiated by attorney and former player Bob Stein (1969 – 1975 Kansas City Chiefs, LA Rams, Minnesota Vikings and San Diego Chargers) and filed in August 2009 and it was originally led by plaintiffs Fred Dryer, Jim Marshall, Elvin Bethea, Joe Senser, Dan Pastorini and Ed White.
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Since then, the case has gone through some changes that we’ve learned about through the many public filings available in the court system. We’ve noticed that Zimmerman & Reed is no longer representing this class (all of the plantiffs have apparently fired them) and we have also learned that Hausfeld LLP and Zelle Hoffman (both firms from the ongoing Eller Class action) have now added their weight and resources to keep moving this lawsuit forward with Bob Stein.
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Judge Susan Nelson’s court in Minneapolis MN just ordered parties to the earlier enjoined lawsuits to a case management conference on Aug. 10, 2011. What’s interesting to note is that Judge Nelson anticipates ordering all parties to bring participants who have settlement authority to a mediation hearing before Judge Boylan in Federal Court on Aug. 15, 2011.
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Since all the active players’ issues are presumably now settled, it would seem that the only remaining issues to be discussed, negotiated and settled are retired players’ claims.
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We’ve uploaded a copy of both letters to Scribd for easy viewing and to also make them downloadable. You can also click the Enlarge icon in the center of the menu at the bottom of the viewing screen to enlarge it for easier navigation (just hit the ESC key to close):
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Order Setting Case Management Conference and Mediation
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