PHILADELPHIA – A wrongful death, class action lawsuit brought by a Dauphin County couple against the National Collegiate Athletic Association on behalf of their late son, who played college football at Lock Haven University, has been transferred to an Illinois federal court.
Per a conditional transfer order issued May 12, the lawsuit was sent to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and assigned to its Judge John Z. Lee. The order stated this was due to the suit having common ties to other litigation previously transferred to that jurisdiction.
“It appears that the action(s) on this conditional transfer order involve questions of fact that are common to the actions previously transferred to the Northern District of Illinois and assigned to Judge Lee. Pursuant to Rule 7.1 of the Rules of Procedure of the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, the action(s) on the attached schedule are transferred under 28 U.S.C. Section 1407 to the Northern District of Illinois for the reasons stated in the order of Dec. 18, 2013, and, with the consent of that court, assigned to the Honorable John Z. Lee,” the order read.
The parents of decedent Daniel Strawbridge, Tom and Donna Strawbridge, first sued the NCAA on Feb. 28 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
The class action complaint accuses the NCAA of keeping “players and the public in the dark” regarding “the debilitating long-term dangers of concussions, concussion-related injuries and sub-concussive injuries” that result from football.
Daniel Strawbridge played defensive back at Lock Haven in the 2013-15 and 2017 seasons. His parents said the school had no adequate concussion protocols or policies and alleged their son “suffered from issues including, but not limited to, headaches, anxiety, depression, loss of concentration and emotional instability.”
He died in March 2018.
After his death, doctors diagnosed him as having suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated head injuries. Symptoms may include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking, and typically do not begin until years after the injuries.
The putative class of the lawsuit would include anyone who participated in Lock Haven’s football program from 1925 through 2017.
For counts of negligence, breach of express contract and fraudulent concealment, the plaintiffs seek class certification, damages and requests a jury trial.
The plaintiffs are represented by Steven J. Cooperstein of Brookman Rosenberg Brown & Sandler, in Philadelphia.
The defendant has not yet secured its counsel.
MDL No. 2492
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case 2:20-cv-01212
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com