Arland Bruce says he was not provided a safe workplace and his injuries were “caused or contributed to by the negligence of the B.C. Lions.”BEN NELMS/Reuters
The first concussion lawsuit filed by a former Canadian Football League player should be thrown out of court because such a grievance can only be handled through arbitration, a lawyer for the league's nine teams said Tuesday.
Arland Bruce, a former wide receiver who played for five CFL teams and was a three-time all-star, filed a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court in July. The lawsuit alleges Mr. Bruce suffered a concussion during a game in September, 2012, when he was a member of the B.C. Lions. It says Mr. Bruce was allowed to return for a playoff game seven weeks later "despite still suffering from the effects of concussion," and that he suffered multiple concussive hits during the game.
Mr. Bruce says he was also allowed to play the following season, for the Montreal Alouettes, despite the fact he was "displaying the ongoing effects of concussion to medical professionals and coaching staff."
But Stephen Shamie, the lawyer representing the league's teams and former commissioner Mark Cohon, said Tuesday the lawsuit should be struck because the court does not have the jurisdiction to hear it. Mr. Shamie said CFL players are covered by a collective agreement and it stipulates grievances must go through arbitration.
"With respect, this honourable court does not have jurisdiction over this action," Mr. Shamie told Justice Brian Joyce. He said the case "concerns a workplace injury allegedly suffered by a unionized employee in the course of his employment as a professional football player."
The hearing on whether to dismiss the case is scheduled to run for three days. Mr. Bruce was not in the courtroom Tuesday. His lawyer is not expected to respond to Mr. Shamie's remarks until Wednesday.
The CFL is not directly named as a party in the lawsuit, since it's technically an unincorporated association. However, the nine teams that make up the league are listed as defendants.
Other defendants include: Dr. Charles Tator, project director of the Canadian Sports Concussion Project; Krembil Neuroscience Centre, where the concussion project is based; and Leo Ezerins, executive director of the CFL Alumni Association. The lawsuit says the concussion project and the alumni association partnered with the CFL for "the purpose of promoting concussion awareness, prevention, management and research."
The allegations in the lawsuit have not been proved.
Mr. Bruce says he was not provided a safe workplace and his injuries were "caused or contributed to by the negligence of the B.C. Lions." He says the team misrepresented the long-term effects of concussions to persuade him to return to the field.
Mr. Bruce says both the Lions and the Alouettes also failed to advise him of advances in helmet technology, including a helmet that uses sensors to measure how many hits a player has taken to the head. The lawsuit says Mr. Bruce suffers from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, depression, anxiety, headaches, insomnia and delusions. He says he is also unable to concentrate.
Mr. Shamie told the court Tuesday that since Mr. Bruce's lawsuit was filed in July, 2014, the matter should be dealt with through a collective agreement that was finalized one month earlier. He said the collective agreement has a detailed process for grievances.
He said the league's teams have taken a number of steps to reduce concussions in recent years, including introducing a concussion protocol and limiting practice schedules. He said player safety issues can also be dealt with through a rules committee.
Mr. Shamie said Mr. Bruce's notice of civil claim should be struck, with costs awarded to the defendants.
A U.S. judge in April approved a concussion settlement involving the National Football League. The agreement involved thousands of concussion lawsuits and was expected to cost about $1-billion (U.S.). The NFL had long been accused of hiding the effects of concussions.