I saw that, the Sean Watson cases had settled, not all of them,
but most of them,
four of the cases are not settled. 20 of the lawsuits
are in the process of being resolved. It's not official
yet. But once the deal is done between the lawyers, it very
rarely falls apart. Once one of the lawyers puts out a public
statement that the cases are resolved.
Rarely rarely, it's not impossible but rarely Does that
tentative deal become anything other than a final
deal? So, what does it mean
as a practical matter? It means 18, not 18, but 20 of the cases
will now be gone for will be left for will move forward
unless they're also settled. Once the defendant starts
paying out money to settle cases,
it makes it easier for the defendant to keep paying money. So
maybe these other four
believe that for them
Justice is going to have a higher price tag.
Then it has for the other 20
and maybe at some point they reach an agreement and
the other four cases are also gone. I won't be surprised if we get
to a point where the other four cases are gone. I got a couple
of possibilities is how that can happen that we'll talk
about in a minute. For now, the thing to remember
is that there have been multiple opportunities
for these cases to settle
before. The first case was ever even filed should have settled
been
when Tony Busby contacted athletes first. The Firm that
handles DeShaun Watson.
Essence, football interests, and also provided some initial
Legal Services seeking a hundred thousand dollars in
settlement.
If they had just merely engaged him in a back-and-forth, they
could have settled her case and maybe there never would have
been a case number two or three or four or so on. Instead
they refuse to put anything on the table. They pissed off,
Tony Busby the next thing you know there's more than 20
cases.
So yeah in hindsight
if an opening demand is a hundred thousand dollars,
chances are you could Between 50 and 75. He should have done
it. And as we said on PFT live recently
cases like that gets settled. All the time we'd ever know
about it because I never get filed, never become a thing,
that's the value in writing, the check
and cutting off a claim before it becomes a full-blown legal
or deal. Some people want to call that extortion. It is not.
It's only extortion. If you really don't intend to follow
through with it, or if you say something,
Like I'm trying to think of an example here. I should have
thought of one in advance, but basically you want money,
otherwise, you're going to do something that, you know, is
unrelated to pursuing your rights in court. They have
every right to go to court, to try to
get Justice for what they experienced
pre litigation. Settlement talks
are not extortion,
their pre litigation, settlement talks.
If you intend to go through with it and if you do go
through with it, if you don't settle the case, it's not
Torsion, it can never be extortion. And in many cases,
the potential defendant is far better off. Writing the check,
avoiding the legal fees, avoiding the publicity,
and avoiding a settlement ends up likely being much higher
than what could have been
reached at the time
of all. First came up. Then after 22 cases were filed,
remember this phase to a potential settlement.
The plaintiffs led by attorney, Tony Busby wanted all of
the payments to be confidential.
DeShaun Watson Rusty Harden
wanted no confidentiality provision. They basically
wanted to do a Victory lap. They wanted to dunk on Tony
Busby and say, look how little he got. Look how small
the amount was, which means, DeShaun Watson, didn't do
anything. That's just a nuisance settled. That's what
they call
into new since we're making a nuisance. Go away.
It's a miniscule amount of money, relative to what we
would spend on legal fees. It's a no-brainer so he didn't do
anything wrong.
Well, it all fell apart, over that failure to Reach
an agreement on confidentiality.
So there, when that opportunity to settle the cases, presumably
for a lot less than they're settling. Now
then came October.
Dolphins, want to trade for Deshaun, Watson condition
a trade on
settlement of all the cases.
All, but for we're ready to go and I can't help. But wonder
whether it's the same for that held out, then that are holding
out. Now at the time
there were 22. So they were 18 that were ready to settle
Charles watts and said, I don't want to do 18 and leave for,
I want to do them all well. He should have done a team
and defend it before
and he didn't, he should have,
he should have settled before they ever filed.
He should have settled back in April of last year. He should
have settled in October of last year
and he should have settled every single day up. Until
today should have said when the Browns traded him or for him,
excuse me, didn't
wisdom, often never arrives at all,
it should be welcomed. Even if it shows up late,
it was the right move. Just last week. DeShaun. Watson said,
I want to clear my name.
They asked him. Do you want to settle these cases? No, I want
to clear my name. His name is never going to be clear.
Simpson, I talked about that it's never going to be clear.
So just make these cases go away.
Resolve these cases give these individuals their Justice
and move on. And the best part of it is from the standpoint
of, how much time it's going to take to deal with these four
cases that are left.
This isn't something is going to linger to 2024 or 2025.
Good luck. When you wall off the football, season
months of August through March, good luck.
Getting a bunch of cases done in one off season or two, or
even three. It down to four, they should be able to do it.
It should be able to do it next year.
Assuming the cases don't settle,
but I have a feeling
that the for their left
will settle. They could settle in the short term.
If they don't settle at all, they go to trial, obviously
there's a device under Texas. Law in Most states recognize,
this is called an offer of judgment. I'm going to write
something about this,
a PFT in a nutshell, what happens is, and I think we've
talked about this
months ago, but it becomes relevant. Now for the last
four,
What you do is, if you're the defendant and in Texas, you can
do it. Also, if you're
the plaintiff,
you basically file the appropriate paperwork to say,
I'll cry, uncle
And let's say, in this case, DeShaun Watson says to Ashley
Solis.
I will offer you judgment the amount of 250,000 dollars and
that amount is intended to reflect everything,
your compensation litigation expenses attorneys fees,
everything
250,000 dollars
Take it or leave it.
Now, if she doesn't take it, what happens going forward is?
She suddenly has
skin in the game.
She suddenly has something to lose.
We've all seen the commercials. We don't get paid unless we get
money for you. She's not going to own it. Tony Busby a penny
if she fails to Prevail at trial,
you just walk away.
Yeah, they'll be litigation cost. But
most lawyers don't want to compound a bad situation. For
the client by saying.
Oh, by the way, you owe me 10,000 dollars
in litigation costs, even though I blew your case,
everybody just kind of walks away. That that's it. It's
over. It's done. It's not done. If DeShaun Watson makes Ashley
Solis or any of the other
four remaining plaintiffs for total
three others, an offer of judgment that they refuse to
accept. And if they fail
to get
And it's the way it's worded under Texas law. It has to be
significantly less. The final amount is significantly less
than what was offered and there's a formula for that,
if that happens,
then
the plaintiff owes DeShaun Watson, all litigation expenses
and attorneys fees, incurred from the date of the offer
going forward, that gives a plaintiff or otherwise has
nothing to lose
something to lose. So once you explain that extra angle,
Once you make the plaintiff, understand that additional
wrinkle, all of a sudden a settlement offer that maybe
the plaintiff turns his or her nose up at becomes a lot more
attractive. So I think that DeShaun Watson should do that,
and I think the
best time to do it is after the league locks in with its
proposed suspension. Because when you make an offer of
judgment, you are essentially
You saying I did it
it's but it's more like no contest in the criminal
context, but still you are saying I am willing to concede
Victory to you.
Probably a good idea to wait to do that until after
the NFL's. Disciplinary process, get started. Not that
it makes a huge difference. But I think that would be the way
I would strategically map it out. If I were the one calling
the shots and
DeShaun Watson should be
I don't I'm not going to say he should be glad I'm not the one
calling the shots because frankly if I was one calling
the shots he has settled the case before the first one was
ever filed.
So this is one case where I won't make the snarky
self-deprecating remarks. Hey, he should be glad I wasn't. He
should wish that. Somebody with my mindset was because
we want to know about any of this crap at all. Would have
been over at all. Would have been done for a lot less than
what he's paid in legal fees, and a lot less than what. He's
Going to pay out and settlements.
We know it's at least got to be a hundred thousand each. He was
going to pay 100,000 each back in October priced in. Go down
since then now
technically confidential
but I guarantee you this
somebody's gonna fly
with one plaintiff.
maybe they keep it quiet
because if it gets out who talk
but one plaintiff
you get 20,
Who talked not me,
who's one of the other 19. Okay. How about you not me? The
one of the other 29th,
one of the other 19.
You can hide in the crowd, somebody's going to be live at
some point
somebody's going to end and it would be wrong
if it happens, but it will be right
from the perspective of a
newsgathering
organization. This is a conflict for me because I think
these agreements should be respected.
And too many times we see confidentiality agreements that
were bargained for by lawyers. These aren't nda's that are
forced onto an employee, take it or leave it. This is
something that was carefully and
liberally bargain for
they should be honored and respected, but I can tell you
Something's are black,
some he's going to talk.
Somebody gets a, something
we're going to know the amount
and
I suspect that if offers of judgment are made to Ashley
Solis and the other three holdouts,
there's a good chance that becomes public at some point,
as well, may not be public until after the verdict, but
at some point, we may know what was offered to them. If that
final
offer of judgment is made aimed at giving them something
to lose the Browns. This is good news for them because
It, it moves the process closer to finality. They just want it
to be over. They don't want this to hang over the team
all of this season. Next offseason,
next football, season, the following offseason,
with all these cases, going through the court system,
they want the cases to be over. They want the suspension to be
handed down, they wanted to be served and then they want to
get back to the business of trying to win football games
with DeShaun Watson as their franchise quarterback. So this
is good news
for the Browns. There's one other wrinkle here.
Here.
It's important
before I get to that
the league said today and this is no surprise that
the settlements of these cases has no impact on the NFL's,
disciplinary process now, it's apples and oranges, two
separate things
he could have gone to trial in one. Every one of those cases
and still been in violation of the personal conduct policy,
not because he assaulted anyone or violated their rights. But
because of this lifestyle
of reportedly at least, sixty three, sixty six different
current women
from whom he procured private massages, through Instagram and
according to his lawyer who says
It's not a crime. Stick a happy ending.
To conclude a massage. There's already been an admission
that
At least three of these massages became sexual
encounters. So the NFL's position is completely
different
from what happens in The Civil Justice System.
The NFL will still go forward,
I believe there will still be a significant suspension
and
it just it pushes the whole thing to being over sooner. If
you get the case is settled.
Now here's the point that I wanted to make
There still could be other lawsuits.
Tony Busby hinted at that
in a statement that he issued last week. After DeShaun Watson
met with reporters, there are
many others who have not come forward yet. They still could.
Now.
I don't know what was said between Tony Busby and rest
Rusty Harden about this and technically technically you
can't reduce to writing a commitment that
from Tony buzzer whose perspective I'm out of
the DeShaun Watson business. I'm not going to file any more
lawsuits.
Over these activities. Anybody else who's come to me? I'm not.
I'm just going to tell them I can't handle the case.
Technically he can't do it, but as a practical matter, if he
wants to do it, he can.
And that could be a gentleman's agreement. Hey, look, you know,
when we get this here, you're not going to go file 15 more of
these, right? This is over.
We want this to be over. We got the four that are pending,
that haven't been settled, but there aren't going to be any
others, right? Man, to man, give me your word,
right?
Again, it's unenforceable.
And if it were reduced to writing, it would be an ethical
violation for both of the lawyers.
But
I would, I would want to know if I'm DeShaun Watson. Is this
guy going to file more cases?
Now, somebody else can file them?
There could be others out there who come forward,
especially, once they find out how much DeShaun Watson paid
when it in of inevitably
is leaked,
how much he's paying?
That's why the defendant in these cases typically is
the one that wants confidentiality, they don't want to start
a revolving door of claiming after claiming have to claim it
saying. Give me mine, give me mine. Give me mine.
Who cares? If my rights aren't violated? I want mine. You're
giving it to them, why not give it? To me. So there still is
a possibility, others
will sue but there's also a possibility of a wink nod. Kind
of an arrangement between Tony Busby and Rusty Hardin did
Busby. Is it going to be the one who follows his lawsuits?
So bottom line
look.
Technically, it doesn't mean that DeShaun Watson did
anything wrong, but there will be people who believe that
the payment of any amount of money is a concession
that there was misconduct.
I
from my perspective, a lot of it is driven by how much
because there is an amount that you pay where you do a very
dispassionate objective analysis
of how much it's going to cost you
from now through the end
of the litigation to defend yourself,
how much it's going to cost you to buy out now,
and if it's less,
Why not save some money
and create some certainty
and reduce
this long list of lawsuits down to something more manageable.
So
I understand that people are going to assume that he's
conceding. You did something wrong but it really doesn't
mean that and there will be language in the settlement
agreement, not that we're going to see it, but I guarantee you
will be a broad denial of any liability.
Clearly unequivocally.
No. Admission of misconduct by DeShaun Watson.
That's a no-brainer.
And there are reasons to settle other than the person thinking.
Oh crap. I did it, and it's going to be exposed.
He still could have won every one of those cases.
You would have been a crapshoot,
but he still could have