A federal judge in South Carolina declined Monday to dismiss a brain injury lawsuit against the NFL that stems from a 2021 mass shooting near Rock Hill by a former player.
The lawsuit was filed by the family of Phillip Adams, who deputies say killed six people in 2021 before killing himself.
Adams was 32 years old when he shot six people before taking his own life as deputies surrounded his parents’ home, the York County Sheriff has said.
U.S. District Court Judge Mary Geiger Lewis’ decision moves the lawsuit back to state court in South Carolina and appears to be an early victory in the case for Adams’ family, who blame the NFL and S.C. State University in the lawsuit.
Their lawyers argued the case should be heard in state court in Orangeburg County rather than federal court. The lawsuit also names the college in Orangeburg, where Adams played as adefendant.
Craig Wilkerson of Rock Hill and Gedney Howe of Charleston, the lawyers for Adams’ family, said the lawsuit belongs in state court.
“This case is truly one of kind,” they said in a statement to The Herald on Monday. “We always felt that jurisdiction for this matter was proper in State Court and the Court’s ruling this afternoon has affirmed that. We look forward to proceeding in accordance with Judge Lewis’ order.”
Details of the lawsuit
The lawsuit seeks damages for claims alleging Phillip Adams’ son suffered emotional and financial losses when his father died in 2021. Adams played in the NFL from 2010 to 2015 with the San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Oakland Raiders, New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons.
S.C. State and the NFL have denied the allegations in previous court documents, and both the league and the college wanted the case kept in federal court. Neither the league nor the college have yet issued any court filings or statements on Monday’s order.
It is unclear if the NFL and S.C. State University will appeal Judge Lewis’s ruling. The Herald reached out to the NFL’s lead attorney by phone and email Monday evening but did not immediately hear back.
Lawsuit blames football for Adams’ head injuries
The lawsuit filed by Adams’ father, Alonzo, alleges S.C. State, the NFL and NFL Properties knew or should have known that Adams engaged in activity detrimental to his safety when Adams suffered concussions and brain injuries, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy. CTE is a brain condition allegedly found in former football players that is caused by repeated head trauma.
At a December 2021 news conference in Rock Hill, Dr. Ann McKee, a neuropathologist at the Boston University CTE Center, said she determined after examining Adams’ brain that the former football player suffered from CTE.
The lawsuit alleges an NFL spotter program did not identify Adams’ head injuries. The lawsuit claims the spotter program was created primarily to “observe play on the field and monitor the broadcast feed” in games “to identify players who may potentially be injured on a play, with an emphasis on concussions,” according to the judge’s written order.
The NFL’s lawyers have argued in previous filings that Adams’ claims are preempted by federal labor laws and a collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and its players that outlines medical care requirements, according to court documents.
But the judge wrote in Monday’s order the case belongs in state court because the collective bargaining agreements, “fail to define the Spotter Program.”
The 2021 mass shooting
Adams was living with his parents in York County in April 2021 after his football career finished.
The six people who died in the shooting were: Dr. Robert Lesslie; his wife, Barbara Lesslie; two of their grandchildren, Adah, 9, and Noah, 5; and two HVAC workers at the house, James Lewis and Robert Shook of Gaston County, North Carolina.
Adams then died by suicide later that night after deputies surrounded his parents’ home, according to Kevin Tolson, who was York County Sheriff at the time in 2021.
No hearings in the pending lawsuit have yet been scheduled, and no trial dates have been set.
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Andrew Dys covers breaking news and public safety for The Herald, where he has been a reporter and columnist since 2000. He has won 51 South Carolina Press Association awards for his coverage of crime, race, justice, and people. He is author of the book “Slice of Dys” and his work is in the U.S. Library of Congress.