Taking Stock of the 9th Circuit’s Decision in the Matthews Case

By Eric Farber & Jon Varnica   As injury claims have mounted, the NFL and the individual teams have fought these cases with little success. In the past few years, the NFL and its management council have attempted to derail the cases by arguing that the claims are subject to arbitration under the Collective Bargaining Agreement ("CBA"). Applicant attorneys and counsel for the NFL Players Association have argued that the CBA does not apply under California Workers' Compensation laws.