The EZEKIEL ELLIOTT case in ED Texas

The decision observes that a PATENT trial held back the district court from a rapid response:


Because the Court was presiding over a patent trial, the Court was unable to reach the NFL's Emergency Motion within the NFL's requested time constraints which, the Court notes, was less than twenty-four hours after the briefing on the Emergency Motion was complete.

Because the Court did not issue an order on the NFL's Emergency Motion within the NFL's requested period of time, the NFL did, in fact, file an "Emergency Motion for Stay Pending Appeal" with the Fifth Circuit on September 15, 2017. In its Emergency Motion in front of the Court, the NFL is complaining that the Court essentially issued a premature order by failing to wait for the arbitrator to issue his ruling and therefore, lacked subject matter jurisdiction. Oddly, the NFL is now seeking expedited relief from the Fifth Circuit without first waiting for the Court to rule on the identical issue. The irony is not lost on the Court.



Of interest in the case:


Briefly summarized, Kia Roberts ("Roberts"), Director of Investigations, and Lisa Friel ("Friel"), Senior Vice President and Special Counsel for Investigations, investigated allegations of domestic violence made by Thompson against Elliott. After investigating the allegations and interviewing Thompson, Roberts found insufficient evidence existed to proceed with punishment. On the other hand, Friel, determined, without having interviewed Thompson, sufficient evidence existed to proceed with punishment. Roberts's views were kept from the NFLPA, Elliott, Commissioner Goodell's team of outside advisors, and possibly Commissioner Goodell himself. Conversely, Friel's views were shared with Commissioner Goodell and the outside advisors. In light of the background, the Court found that the denial of Commissioner Goodell and Thompson's testimony were gross evidentiary errors that so affected the rights of the NFLPA and Elliott, such that they were deprived of a fair hearing and it constituted misconduct by Henderson.
The Court also agrees with the NFLPA that the balance of the equitable factors weigh against granting a stay. When determining whether to grant a stay, a court must also weigh equitable factors such as the following: (1) whether the movant will suffer irreparable harm absent a stay; (2) whether the non-movant will suffer injury if the stay is granted; and (3) whether a stay serves the public interest. See In re First S. Sav. Ass'n, 820 F.2d at 704.




The outcome: It is therefore ORDERED that Respondents' Emergency Motion to Stay Injunction
Pending Appeal (Dkt. #30) is hereby DENIED



Note 3: The NFL changed the language of the standard from presenting a substantial case on the merits to "serious and substantial questions on the merits." The Court does not automatically [*12] penalize the NFL for the use of substantial questions rather than substantial case, and continues to analyze whether the NFL presented a substantial case on the merits, which is the standard imposed by the Fifth Circuit. The serious question standard applies to the legal questions presented; however if a serious legal question is presented the NFL must show a substantial case on the merits with respect to those serious legal questions. Ruiz, 650 F.2d at 565.

Note 5: The Court additionally notes that the petition to vacate will not be able to be resolved before November 5, 2017 (this would be the sixth game of Elliott's suspension if it started Week 3 of the NFL season). If the Court were to find in the NFLPA's favor and grant the petition to vacate, Elliott would have already served the entirety of the six-game suspension. The Preliminary Injunction Order preserves the status quo while the Court resolves the NFLPA's Petition.

Citation: 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 150758