Gee v. National Collegiate Athletic Association

Case Name: Gee v. National Collegiate Athletic Association

Type of Case: Wrongful death

Court: Los Angeles County

Judge(s): Judge Terry A. Green

Defense Lawyers: Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, William F. Stute, William A. Molinski, David P. Fuad, Natalie Z. Nahabet, Deena O. Dulgerian, Justin M. Washington, John P. Badalich

Plaintiff Lawyers: Shrader & Associates LLP, Jill K. Nikaud, Jaclyn Riff, Justin Shrader; Edelson PC, Rafey S. Balabanian, Roger J. Perlstadt, Todd Logan; Horton Law, William G. Horton

It took tact and diplomacy to win a defense verdict for the NCAA in a unique trial that blamed concussions for the death of a one-time college football star, according to Will Stute, Orrick's top sports litigator.

Matthew Gee had been a linebacker on USC's Rose Bowl-winning team in 1990. In a lawsuit filed 30 years later, his widow, Alana Gee, claimed that his 1998 death was traced to concussions he suffered playing college football. She sought nearly $55 million from the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its alleged negligence in not better-protecting players. Gee v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, 20STCV43627 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Nov. 12, 2020).

William A. Molinski

During the four-week trial, the plaintiff's attorneys presented evidence that Gee's brain tissue showed definite signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy from as many as 6,000 hits while playing for USC.

The Orrick team had to counter with evidence about his long history of abusing alcohol and cocaine, which led to serious liver and heart disease and, later in life, emotional problems and personality changes. Gee died in his sleep of sudden cardiac arrest brought on in part by acute alcohol and cocaine toxicity. His blood alcohol level was four times the legal limit.

"We had to show the jury that, although tragic, the medical and psychological issues that Mr. Gee suffered were not caused by football, and, in fact, began before he even played college football," co-lead defense attorney William Molinski said in an email.

The defense team also had to educate the jury about the NCAA and the support it gives schools to promote athletes' health and safety.

"Underlying all this, we had to overcome the media-driven public perception that claims like these were valid," Molinski added.

David P. Fuad

An important theme was rebutting the plaintiff's attempts to tie Gee's many medical problems to concussions and instead to show that scientific understanding of CTE is still uncertain. Through cross-examination, the defense attorneys were able to demonstrate "that even plaintiff's experts recognized that CTE was not known when Mr. Gee played football and that the science behind CTE is still not settled even today," Stute wrote in the email.

After less than a full day of deliberations in late November, the jury found that the NCAA had not been negligent in Gee's death.

Lead plaintiff's attorney Rafey S. Balabanian of Edelson PC did not respond to a request to comment on the trial. No appeal has been filed so far.

The Orrick team began another concussion trial for the NCAA late last month in Indiana, and it has more trials scheduled for this year and 2024. Stute said he thinks the verdict in the Gee case will have an impact. "Given that the jury ... found no negligence by the NCAA even before getting to unique causation issues, we expect it may give plaintiffs pause in continuing to file claims with similar allegations of negligence against the NCAA."

-- Don DeBenedictis