Difference between Daniels and these guys, is that Daniels is in the NFL and has made millions already on his own. This is a money grab for these guys and nothing more.
8 former Hawkeyes sue the university and ask for Ferentz firing
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Difference between Daniels and these guys, is that Daniels is in the NFL and has made millions already on his own. This is a money grab for these guys and nothing more.
Good thought. As indicated earlier, I don't work in this particular arena. If you do, I'd be curious to read your thoughts on the viability of such an effort. Off the top of my head (which is always dangerous), it seems to me that certain damages referenced in the Solomon-Simmons letter which would be sought in this case (humiliation, mental suffering, etc) are akin to damages sought in a personal injury action - two year SOL. Defamation has a two year SOL. The letter also references loss of earning capacity and loss of professional opportunities. Those could be analogous to personal injury damages but could also be considered contractual damages in the right setting (analogous to loss profits, revenue or contractual opportunities in a UCC breach of warranty setting). Breach of written contract claims are governed by a 10 year SOL.
Here's a crazy thought. Even if the court considers that certain claims can be tied to a breach of contract theory to invoke a 10 year SOL, wouldn't the court be obligated to apply the 2 year SOL for any damages that would be akin to personal injury claims (mental suffering, humiliation, defamation). It is certainly well-established that certain counts of a petition/complaint may be timely while other counts of the petition/complaint are time barred.
If the former athletes are limited to proving and seeking that they suffered loss of professional opportunities and suffered a loss of earning capacity because of intentional disparate treatment, they (IMO) face some incredible hurdles. Good luck trying to prove that you didn't become a professional football player because you were singled out and treated unfairly as a black athlete. I suppose that they could point to low graduation rates and the inability to secure employment because they don't have a degree but . . . man . . . that opens the door to some awfully uncomfortable testimony regarding their efforts in the classroom, resources available to the athletes that aren't available to the general student populace, the ability to earn the degree after eligibility is over, etc.
The low-hanging fruit damages are humiliation, mental distress, etc. Knock those out of the case and it loses (again, IMO) a lot of the "sex appeal."
Also did some digging last night during the World Series game on Solomon-Simmons. I don't get the impression that he's a trial lawyer. Licensed attorney? Sure. Can he litigate? Probably. But his webpage and on-line presence does not suggest that he's a seasoned in-court trial lawyer. He seems to like the limelight and attention but often refers to his "legal team." Well . . . he seems to operate a one-person practice. His website identifies that he is "of counsel" to a premier Tulsa law firm but his LinkedIn page suggests that relationship may have ended in 2019. Further, the "premier" Tulsa law firm does not list him on their webpage as being "of counsel." Finally, he cc'd a lawyer from Tulsa that is with a firm other than the "premier" Tulsa law firm on his letter to the U of Iowa. A quick check shows that the other lawyer in Tulsa clerked for Solomon-Simmons and is in his first year of practice. I'm not seeing much of a "legal team" in Oklahoma. My feeling is that he'd be relying quite a bit on Alfredo Parrish to do the heavy lifting. Parrish is a seasoned trial lawyer and would know how to posture and present a case to a federal jury in Cedar Rapids. I just don't think that a jury in Cedar Rapids would respond well to Solomon-Simmons' style.
While Parrish is a well known commodity to the Iowa bar, I'm not convinced that either he or anyone at his firm would fare well against a "deep" firm with loads of expertise in these types of claims.
If I had to bet, my bet remains that a lawsuit will be filed but if you told me in 6-8 months that the players chose not to pursue it, I wouldn't be surprised.
Assuming suit is filed and assuming that the U of Iowa pursues a strategy to have some or all of the claims thrown out on statute of limitations grounds, it will be fascinating to see the PR efforts at the time. I can envision the athletes' counsel claiming that the U of Iowa is seeking to avoid responsibility on technical grounds and not wanting to defend the merits of its actions in court. Typically, defense counsel wouldn't comment publicly but, in this type of situation, you might see a "we are facing a lawsuit claiming that these athletes suffered damages because of racial discrimination. The law requires these types of claims to be timely pursued so that we can respond immediately. The U of Iowa insists that the specific allegations lack merit and, particularly in light of the time that has transpired, the U of Iowa has asked the court to dismiss the claims as being stale and untimely."
That won't fly. Not a chance. Not even close.
And, quite frankly, it would undermine the veracity of their claims. How can you claim to suffer humiliation as the result of the coaches' conduct other than contemporaneously? I felt humiliated five years later? Buzz. Wrong answer. Thanks for trying.
One of the elements of damages in a Title VI and/or Section 1981 claim is that, if a plaintiff prevails, the defendant has to pay the plaintiff(s)' attorneys fees. So, you aren't looking at a situation where a $100,000 verdict nets $33,333 to plaintiff's counsel. The fee claim could extend well into high six/low seven figures.
Thanks, what I was wondering was what kind of damages are these players seeking to re-coup? How exactly had they been financially damaged by the alleged actions.
This. With the exception of Aaron Mends, they are going to need to tie the Section 1983 claim to a certain theory with a SOL longer than 2 years to have any chance. As @David1979 points out, it could be a breach of contract theory.
Given that the settlement letter was marked "confidential" and Solomon-Simmons appears to be pissed off that it became public (would love to know how the DMR got its hands on the letter - FOIA? - someone leak it to them?), my guess is that they don't have the Complaint drafted yet. It will be interesting to watch the timing. Will they try to file it during the football season and will they choose to time it for maximum publicity (i.e. the week of a "big" game that will have a large TV audience)?
I've read that sometimes domestic assault victims don't report the battering they received but giving free drinks on top is unrealistic.
Definitely appreciate the inside baseball perspective @AuroraHawk and @Hkfan23 are bringing to the discussion! I'm not an attorney but deal with a lot of M&A attorneys and have always appreciated the good ones who can bridge the legal and business issues to make sure everyone is focused on the right things.
I haven't read things closely, but I thought the demand letter indicated they wanted this resolved by a certain date (Monday?). I would think they would have the lawsuit ready to go the minute that deadline passed so they could keep on the offensive and keep this in the limelight as long as possible. With the legal discussion here and the inaction thus far, it seems that this may have been an empty threat? Does this hold any water or is it realistic to think the lawsuit would take time?
I haven't read things closely, but I thought the demand letter indicated they wanted this resolved by a certain date (Monday?). I would think they would have the lawsuit ready to go the minute that deadline passed so they could keep on the offensive and keep this in the limelight as long as possible. With the legal discussion here and the inaction thus far, it seems that this may have been an empty threat? Does this hold any water or is it realistic to think the lawsuit would take time?
A coach calling a player a name, even a racially offensive one, does not in and of itself implicate the whole program and larger university. When in retrospect the player finds out that there were many others who had similar experiences and that the university knew or should have known that this was happening and that there was a lot of other stuff going on like blacks graduating at half the rate of whites, black players having demands placed on them that white players did not, being disciplined differently etc., then yes, you can argue that you didn't know your abuse was part of a wider pattern that would take it from the realm of a problem between player and coach to a civil rights violation. I wouldn't count on the SOL being dispositive as I've seen it basically ignored in cases where it should have been an easy call.
Thanks. I am on a short break from depositions and will respond to what Aurora and David have posted later. I think we are all in agreement on the issues and general strategy. To answer your question, I have no doubt they will file and the case if it doesn’t get settled or kicked out will go into 2022 for trial. This Okie lawyer is an attention whore and Al Parrish as much as I like the guy and as I mentioned have him as an expert witness in a case I have, loves the limelight as well. I had posted in the “Lawyers” thread in response to my man Screw how I think/hope it would generally proceed as well as issues that are also described in this thread.
I didn't look at his LinkedIn page. I looked at the "white shoe" firm's page and saw no mention of him. He still had a reference to them on his personal page. I thought the whole thing a bit sketchy.
I think this would be filed in the Southern District of Iowa - the courthouse is in Des Moines, not Cedar Rapids (Northern District).
At least one judge there might be amenable to listening to arguments of discrimination...
Judge dismisses charges against Black man, saying he was targeted by Iowa City Police
Charges against a Black man in Iowa City last year have been dropped after a federal judge ruled the arrest was unlawful and the officer was racial profiling.
www.kcci.com
I didn't look at his LinkedIn page. I looked at the "white shoe" firm's page and saw no mention of him. He still had a reference to them on his personal page. I thought the whole thing a bit sketchy.
I think this would be filed in the Southern District of Iowa - the courthouse is in Des Moines, not Cedar Rapids (Northern District).
At least one judge there might be amenable to listening to arguments of discrimination...
Judge dismisses charges against Black man, saying he was targeted by Iowa City Police
Charges against a Black man in Iowa City last year have been dropped after a federal judge ruled the arrest was unlawful and the officer was racial profiling.
Yep. You're right. It would be a SDIA case as opposed to a NDIA case. Brain fart.
Got it, I'll hit u up early in the week before northwestern 👍
Here are my thoughts on that issue. I believe they are hoping the continued “bad press” will force Iowa’s hand now. Keep in mind once the lawsuit is actually filed they have played their final trump card. The story will be dead (unless there are decommits or more players coming out, etc.) until depo testimony is leaked which won’t be until next spring or summer. In other words, this (the actual filing of the lawsuit) is their last bullet from a publicity standpoint and they know it. They are hoping Iowa will blink now cause if not the story for this Okie glory hound is gone for quite awhile about 2 days after it is filed. Especially with both college and pro football in full swing. Honestly, will anybody outside of. Story County be talking about this 2 days after they file? They have already laid out their allegations and if they had a smoking gun they surely would have played it already to leverage a settlement. Just my opinion.
I’m betting Solomon-Simmons is busy dealing with the bodies being unearthed in Tulsa today. Relates to infamous Tulsa massacre and he’s been pretty active in trying to get compensation for descendants of this who were massacred.
One of the things that Solomon-Simmons' letter asked the university to make a payment of $10 million was for PTSD. I'm a combat vet and I realize you don't have to be a combat vet to have PTSD. But this is the one that I really find galling. I am sure that I can say with certainty that there's not one single Iowa football player that has experienced the kind of trauma which results in PTSD such as a terrorist act, war/combat, rape, or who have been threatened with death, sexual violence or serious injury.
Hardly earth-shattering that an attorney letter imposes a time demand and threatens immediate action if the demand isn't met Remember when the attorney in Lincoln threatened to sue the Big 10 in federal court in Nebraska if they didn't immediately turn over a bunch of records and gave the Big 10 only a certain time to respond?
Yeah . . . the attorney filed suit but it wasn't in federal court, it wasn't immediately after the deadline identified in the letter and the lawsuit ended up asserting a completely different theory than what was contained in the letter. It may have been designed to get the information sought and was successful in some measure but, bottom line, a terse demand letter doesn't necessarily indicate that a threatened complaint will be filed immediately if the demand isn't met.
Just checked the Southern District of Iowa's electronic docket and there is no reference to a lawsuit in which Akrum Wadley is a plaintiff.
Lol at him wondering why this was made public. You are threatening to sue a public institution, dumbass.
If UI capitulate to the mob this will never end.
Talked to no fewer than 3 people over the weekend who commented about Iowa defending itself in the federal court lawsuit. When I told them that no lawsuit had been filed, they didn't believe me.
FWIW, I just checked the electronic docket moments ago. Still no lawsuit filed in which Akrum Wadley is a plaintiff.
Thanks, Aurora. What's the takeaway given it hasn't been filed? All bark no bite or are they reloading for a bigger fireworks show with the lawsuit filing?
I'm no expert, but I'm betting their plan is to drag this out as much as possible. As long as it's talked about during the games, it's bad press for Iowa and continued leverage. As soon as things die down (end of the season?), they'll take the next step. The basic idea is to apply continued pressure. Don't fire all your weapons at once, wear 'em down with non-stop poking like the chinese water torture. They know Iowa doesn't want this bad pub, so their plan will be to drag it out to keep it in the headlines as much as possible.
If/when they do file suit, they'll then come out with periodic filings and/or press releases timed to keep it in the news.
I'd tend to agree with your assessment especially based on the timing of the demand letter. It's frustrating as a fan to see the continual discussion during the two games so far. I'm sure once interest begins to subside they come out with another volley to get it back to front and center...
Edit (hit send too quick): On the other hand the longer this goes you'd think Iowa would be able to get their ducks in a row rather than having to respond right away. The strategy around something like this is where I don't have the experience to read between the lines.
From what I've read, this is far from a slam dunk for the plaintiffs. I'm guessing their best case is a settlement and that the corresponding strategy is designed to induce that.
My 2 cents. First, they are trying to get more people to join before they sue. Getting easier for them with each loss. Second, and why I am so pissed at the first 2 games. Say we are 2-0 and looking good our whole “new culture” really hurts their case. Now they have all the media. Our worst season ever, ISM OWI, etc. People mocked me when I said how bad the Purdue loss was. There are checkers and chess. I try to play chess and our worst year with all the baggage ain’t good. Especially since we should be ready to go 3-0 with our “new culture.” Some people don’t get it. This isn’t just about our record. We still have the racial discord issue and our best player with an OWI and have zero wins.
Hahahahahahaha. Yeah you lose when all you have is "you're a racist". Guess you are triggered now.
I hear whites calling blacks that all the time in the south... hell even in college around here you hear it. But plz, keep the victimhood and outrage going, you have nothing else.
Where is the lawsuit? I mean as a lawyer I have seen multiple deadlines. All passed. They need to keep getting Plainiffs. Other Fourth stringers who transferred to a 1-AA or NAIA school who didn’t play but still want to get a buck. This Lawsuit without more has turned into a joke. Reason why not filed and no mojo for it. What sucks is if we were 2-0 the lawsuit would never happen. Win some games and this vanishes. They had their window this summer and the lawsuit threat. They have zero now obviously. As Aurora and David would agree, if they had a smoking gun we would have seen it. It is a bluff.
I've written before and I continue to believe that there is a huge statute of limitations issue for all but one of the players identified in the original letter. That could be playing a key role.
I understand the attorney wants to make this easy on himself but he probably should have at least looked at the Iowa Open Records Law. There is an exception that personal information on past students doesn’t have to be provided so the Attorney will have to dig up his own information to contact past players.
I would like to read the actual open records request but . . . if the report is accurate . . . asking for information gathered by the Husch Blackwell investigation via an Open Records Act request seems misplaced.
Also, this demand letter is not a formal court document. So if a SOL is indeed in place, then a formal lawsuit will need to be filed to or more players will fall into the SOL and could not be included.
Note: not a lawyer, but my wife was sued and it lasted 3 years. The plaintiffs sent many demand letters that included absolutely fabricated details. We discussed with our lawyer at length. This type of law could be different I suppose.
https://www.hawkcentral.com/story/s...inst-iowa-kirk-ferentz-gary-barta/6232852002/
Solomon-Simmons on Nov. 3, the Register has learned, sent a sweeping freedom-of-information request to obtain a wide range of data from the university, including text messages and e-mails from current and former coaches since June 3 — around the time dozens of Black former players began speaking up on social media about their experiences in the Hawkeye program. In that FOIA request, Solomon-Simmons also requested additional information that was not included in the publicly distributed findings of the Husch Blackwell investigation into the Iowa football program: Personnel reports into four unnamed coaches who had been accused of bullying or mistreatment.
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Sounds like they know they really don't have much and are hoping something juicy can be found in the FOIA request to give the case something to go off of. **** these guys and the POS lawyers representing them.
Solomon-Simmons on Nov. 3, the Register has learned, sent a sweeping freedom-of-information request to obtain a wide range of data from the university, including text messages and e-mails from current and former coaches since June 3 — around the time dozens of Black former players began speaking up on social media about their experiences in the Hawkeye program. In that FOIA request, Solomon-Simmons also requested additional information that was not included in the publicly distributed findings of the Husch Blackwell investigation into the Iowa football program: Personnel reports into four unnamed coaches who had been accused of bullying or mistreatment.
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Sounds like they know they really don't have much and are hoping something juicy can be found in the FOIA request to give the case something to go off of. **** these guys and the POS lawyers representing them.
This reminds me of the Salem witch trials. This is nothing but slander by individuals who were not good enough to play or in the case of Wadley not good enough to make the NFL. If Kirk survived the independent investigation,
he has nothing to worry about. Why is Iowa under attack and not other schools for this nonsense
I find it very interesting that they completely backed off the financial demand in the lawsuit. Lawyers on the board, is that normal to do, or a sign perhaps that their case isn't superstrong?
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