Federal Judge Slams Attorney Representing Wrestlers in Concussion Case Against the WWE
A federal judge in Connecticut this week dismissed the sixth and last concussion lawsuit filed against the WWE. Konstantine Kyros, who is defending dozens of former wrestlers, plans to appeal to the Connecticut Appellate Court.
September 18, 2018 at 03:45 PM
6 minute read
A federal judge in Connecticut has slammed the attorney representing wrestlers in a lawsuit against the World Wrestling Entertainment.
U.S. District Judge Vanessa Bryant found Massachusetts-based solo practitioner Konstantine Kyros insisted on delaying the process and “repeatedly filed complaints rife with irrelevant, inflammatory and inaccurate information.”
In her 40-page Monday ruling, Bryant wrote that Kyros made “frivolous claims that has required the court to waste considerable judicial resources sifting through three unreasonably long complaints filed in the Laurinaitis action, with the vague hope that some claim, buried within a mountain of extraneous information, might have merit.”
Related: Federal Judge: Attorney Has Until Nov. 3 to Amend WWE Complaint
As she has in previous writings, Bryant blasted Kyros, the attorney for dozens of wrestlers, for how he conducted himself in the legal process. Bryant had previously dismissed five lawsuits filed by Kyros against the WWE. On Monday, she dismissed the final one: a lawsuit by more than 50 former wrestlers against the WWE. The lead plaintiff was Joe “Road Warrior Animal” Laurinaitis.
Kyros told the Connecticut Law Tribune Tuesday he plans on appealing to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
“The court has been extremely forgiving of attorney Kyros and his appearing co-counsels' highly questionable practices throughout this case, in an effort to give each wrestler a fair hearing,” Bryant wrote. “However, despite second, third, and fourth chances to submit pleadings … attorney Kyros has persisted in asserting pages and pages of frivolous claims and allegations for which he lacked any factual basis. He was warned that if he continued to do so this case would be dismissed, and he ignored this warning.”
In an unusual step, the judge ordered Kyros to send her ruling to each of the Laurinaitis plaintiffs as well as to any other future, current or former wrestlers he's retained in his legal battle against the WWE.
Kyros maintains that the mega-entertainment company did not adequately protect its talent from concussions and head trauma.
But the judge did not find in his clients' favor on claims that the sport causes concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
“The court is also unwilling to find that the diagnosis of one wrestler with CTE is sufficient to inbue WWE with actual awareness of a probable link between wrestling and CTE,” Bryant wrote. “Further, counsel lacks a good-faith basis for asserting that plaintiffs who retired after 2007 could not on their own, in the exercise of due diligence, uncover information timely about CTE or the risks that concussions or subconcussive blows could cause CTE.”
Kyros referred the Connecticut Law Tribune to his website, where he called Bryant's ruling “very poorly reasoned.” He said the “decision will not stand” and said it “ignores basic facts about the history of CTE science, as well as the rudimentary concepts of employment and labor law and is mostly a personal attack on your advocate and not on you.”
Kyros continued: “The opinions expressed in the decision about my strong advocacy are inaccurate, bizarre, and unworthy of the court. The reasoning of the opinion itself is flimsy as the court finds, in ignorance of the facts, that there is no reasonable basis for the assertions, despite a substantial body of medical peer-reviewed literature going back almost 100 years. … I will continue to fight and advocate for wrestlers' legal rights despite this tragic opinion that attempts to cast down my clients' hopes for better lives.”
Jerry McDevitt of Pittsburgh-based K&L Gates, told the Connecticut Law Tribune Tuesday he had been texting Vince McMahon, chief executive officer of the WWE, after the ruling was announced. “He was at Monday Night Raw. He was obviously happy about the results and felt vindicated.”
McDevitt said he believes Kyros should be disbarred.
“He engaged in misconduct and he is an embarrassment to the profession,” McDevitt said of opposing counsel. “He just does not get it. Lawsuits are not about making up facts. And that is what he has done repeatedly.”
McDevitt added: “Judge Bryant showed great patience with this fellow and cautioned him repeatedly about his misconduct and warned him this [dismissal of cases] would happen. This is a well-earned and well-deserved victory.”
The judge's ruling also calls on Kyros to pay the legal fees for McDevitt's team for two of the motions related to the Laurinaitis case. McDevitt said he'd have a firm number on how much in legal fees is owed in a few weeks, adding, “It's easily in the six figures.”
McDevitt declined to say whether he personally thought wresting contributed to CTE, but said, “The WWE has the best doctors, and they talk to the talent about the risk of head injuries and how to protect themselves. It's a very professionally run organization.”
On McDevitt's call for Kyros' disbarment, Kyros responded, “If I was disbarred, Mr. McDevitt would have a lot less to do. As the leading advocate for professional wrestlers' legal rights, his sentiments are no doubt the product of his frustration that WWE's outrageous misconduct has been so publicly revealed through my fearless advocacy.”
Hartford-based Day Pitney assisted the WWE as counsel.
Related:
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllManaging Partner Vindicated in Disciplinary Proceeding Brought by Former Associate
5 minute readConnecticut Movers: Year-End Promotions, Hires and an Office Opening
5 minute readGC Pleads Guilty to Embezzling $7.4 Million From 3 Banks
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250