THE $1 BILLION SETTLEMENT REACHED BY FORMER NFL FOOTBALL PLAYERS AND THE NFL FOR CONCUSSION-RELATED INJURIES WAS DEEMED REASONABLE BY THE FIRST DEPARTMENT (FIRST DEPT). ​

The First Department, modifying Supreme Court, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Pitt-Burke, determined the class action settlement in the federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) brought by former football players against the National Football League (NFL) for concussion-related injuries was reasonable. The opinion lays out the lengthy history of this litigation and addresses several insurance-contract-interpretation issues which are too complex to fairly summarize here:

While this Court is not bound by the findings of the federal courts on this issue, their determinations provide guidance as to the question of reasonableness before us. Although the MDL settlement was projected to cost $1 billion over its lifetime, given the claims asserted, the extensive publicity and media coverage of the case, and the defense costs, we cannot say the settlement was objectionably unreasonable. In fact, a main contention of the objectors to the settlement in the federal action was that the settlement amount was too lenient (id. at 440). Thus, taking into account the complexity of the claims, “it cannot be said . . . that there was no possibility that litigating the case to the end would result in a judgment . . . in an amount greater than the settlement” … . Discover Prop. & Cas. Co. v National Football League, 2026 NY Slip Op 05595, First Dept 10-1-26