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NEGLIGENCE ALLEGED
Jeffers not giving up case vs. Panthers
CHARLES CHANDLER
cchandler@charlotteobserver.com
Former Carolina Panthers receiver Patrick Jeffers is proceeding with his nearly five-year attempt to have complaints against the team heard in court.
Jeffers' attorney filed a notice of appeal April 24 in Mecklenburg County Superior Court, signaling that papers are forthcoming asking the N.C. Court of Appeals to overturn a local judge's April 2004 ruling.
Jeffers included the Panthers in his August 2003 lawsuit against former team physician Dr. Donald D'Alessandro and the Miller Orthopaedic Clinic. Jeffers claimed D'Alessandro "destroyed" his NFL career by performing unauthorized procedures during an August 2000 surgery. Jeffers said the Panthers negligently retained D'Alessandro despite knowing he had a propensity to exceed players' informed consent during surgeries.
D'Alessandro denied any wrongdoing in court papers. Jeffers' lawsuit against the doctor has a March 2009 court date.
Mecklenburg County superior court judge Robert C. Ervin ruled in April 2004 the portion of the lawsuit pertaining to the Panthers was subject to the NFL's collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and Jeffers had to file a grievance under the league's arbitration system before determining whether the case belonged in court.
Jeffers' attorneys appealed Ervin's ruling to the court of appeals and the N.C. Supreme Court in 2005, but both declined to hear the case until after the arbitration issue was resolved.
Jeffers eventually filed a grievance, but it missed time limits set for the filing by the CBA. In March, the arbitrator ruled that the case doesn't belong in court. But the state appellate court isn't bound by that ruling.
