Ex-NFL Players’ Concussion Suit Transferred to Pennsylvania

March 15, 2012

A federal lawsuit filed on behalf of nearly a dozen former NFL players living in Louisiana has been transferred from New Orleans to Philadelphia, where a judge presides over a batch of similar suits accusing the league of failing to protect players from the risks associated with concussions.

Thursday’s transfer order comes less than three weeks after the class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of 11 ex-players. Several former New Orleans Saints players, including John Fourcade, are among the plaintiffs. Fourcade was a quarterback for the Saints from 1987 to 1990 and played at Mississippi.

Other suits blaming the NFL for concussion-related dementia and brain disease already have been consolidated in Philadelphia.

The NFL has vowed to vigorously defend itself against the litigation.