A federal judge from the Northern District of California dismissed a lawsuit, which claimed that the U.S. Soccer Federation and other organizations had not done enough to reduce the risk of concussions in the sport.
The court held generally that the seven named plaintiffs, who were soccer players, lacked standing because they had failed to show injuries or that they were in imminent danger of injury.
In addition, the court found that FIFA, the international governing body of soccer and one of the defendants in the lawsuit, could not be sued because it was based in Switzerland. FIFA was pleased with the court’s “conclusion” that it “cannot be held responsible for football played throughout the United States and, as such, all claims relating to concussion and negligence against FIFA must be dismissed.”
Steve Berman, one of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs, said he would appeal the ruling involving FIFA and re-file an amended complaint regarding the other defendants.
Original Lawsuit
The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in 2014 against FIFA as well as the U.S. Youth Soccer and American Youth Soccer leagues. The leagues are responsible for over three million child and adolescent soccer players in the United States.
The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants failed to adopt effective policies to evaluate and manage concussions, a common occurrence, at all levels of the game. The plaintiffs also alleged that a lack of effective policies poses a greater danger to players that are women and children, since both groups are more vulnerable to traumatic and long-lasting brain injury. In addition, they alleged that FIFA’s guidelines appear to suggest that players self-diagnose brain injuries by allowing a referee and not a medical professional to determine if the player is too injured to continue. This creates a problem, since “returning a player to play before fully recovered negligently puts him or her at risk of a permanent brain injury.”
The plaintiffs, who filed the claim in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, are seeking to force FIFA and its U.S. affiliates to implement up-to-date guidelines for detection of head injuries and for return to play after a concussion. The suit also calls for regulation of heading by players under 17 years old, and a rule change to permit substitution of players for medical evaluation purposes. Currently, FIFA rules generally allow only three substitutions per game with no clear provision for head injuries, the plaintiffs claimed. If an athlete bleeds, even from a scrape, removal is required, but no similar rule exists for concussions. FIFA provides no guidance on substitutions in youth games in the U.S.
The defendants ultimately moved to dismiss, primarily for lack of personal and subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim.
The court found that FIFA’s motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction “must be” granted. In sum, the plaintiffs “have established no connection between any claim asserted in this case and any action by FIFA in California, and have provided no indication as to what discovery might possibly demonstrate facts sufficient to constitute a basis for jurisdiction.”
Turning to the defendants’ other arguments, the court found the plaintiffs’ complaint wanting.
“The court finds that plaintiffs have not alleged facts sufficient to demonstrate redressability. The plaintiffs seek an injunction requiring defendants to draft and adopt unspecified concussion management protocols and to change the rules by which soccer is played. They also seek creation of a monetary fund of unspecified size to pay for medical monitoring of some untold number of players and former players in the United States and perhaps worldwide who fall within the proposed class as defined in the complaint. The defendants argue that the plaintiffs lack Article III standing to seek either prospective injunctive relief or retrospective relief in the form of medical monitoring.”
Rachel Mehr, et al. v. Féderation Internationale De Football Association, et al.; N.D. Cal.; Case No. 14-cv-3879-PJH, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92779; 7/16/15
Attorneys of Record: For Rachel Mehr, Beata Ivanauskiene, Sarah Aranda, Kira Akka-Seidel, Karen Christine O’Donoghue, Plaintiffs: Derek G. Howard, LEAD ATTORNEY, Jack Wing Lee, Minami Tamaki LLP, San Francisco, CA; Sean Tamura-Sato, LEAD ATTORNEY, San Francisco, CA; Steve W. Berman, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Seattle, WA; Jon T. King, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Berkeley, CA.
For Federation Internationale de Football Association, also known as FIFA, Defendant: Brad Karp, LEAD ATTORNEY, Bruce Birenboim, Daniel Levi, H. Christopher Boehning, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison LLP, New York, NY; Michael J. Shepard, LEAD ATTORNEY, Hogan Lovells US LLP, San Francisco, CA.
For United States Soccer Federation, Inc., Defendant: Russell Fredrick Sauer, Jr., LEAD ATTORNEY, Amy Christine Quartarolo, Latham and Watkins LLP, Los Angeles, CA; Casandra Leann Thomson, Latham & Watkins, Los Angeles, CA.
For US Youth Soccer Association, Inc., Defendant: M. Christopher Hall, LEAD ATTORNEY, Bonne Bridges Mueller O’Keefe Nichols, Santa Ana, CA.
For National Association of Competitive Soccer Clubs, Inc., doing business as US Club Soccer, American Youth Soccer Organization, Defendants: Stuart M. Gordon, LEAD ATTORNEY, Gordon & Rees, San Francisco, CA; Fletcher C. Alford, Gordon & Rees LLP, San Francisco, CA.
For California Youth Soccer Association, Defendants: Julie Lynn Fieber, Wallace M. Tice, LEAD ATTORNEYS, Lynch Gilardi & Grummer, San Francisco, CA.
