The Cleveland Browns acquisition of QB Deshaun Watson could have ripple effects, not only for the team but across the league. The Browns, like multiple other teams, were interested in acquiring Watson despite, at the time, one pending criminal charge and 22 civil cases.
The final criminal charge was dropped by a grand jury but the civil cases continue on.
Watson made it clear that he does not believe he never assaulted or disrespected any woman. Based on his comments to the Cleveland media, it seems as if he has no plans to settle the cases to put it in the past and move forward.
New legal filings have added claims of negligence and gross negligence to two of the civil cases against him:
By adding these new causes of action, they potentially widen the net of discoverable evidence they can obtain before trial and also add another way to recover damages in their lawsuits.
In the same article, a law professor explains the impact of the addition of the claims:
“They will be able to ask any questions or seek information such as texts related to those claims. Second, it provides plaintiffs another basis for recovery (of damages). Third, if plaintiffs prevail on the gross negligence claims they can be awarded punitive damages, which are damages designed to punish the wrongdoer for his/her extreme conduct.”
On top of those claims come details of an agreement between the two parties related to the timing of any trial:
The two sides have an agreement not to schedule trials on these cases from Aug. 1 through March 1, 2023, helping Watson avoid them during football season. That means they might not be resolved until 2023 unless they are settled before then out of court.
With Roger Goodell making it clear that Watson would not be placed on the commissioner’s exempt list, if the cases are not completed before August 1st of this year, any punishment could be delayed until the 2023 season. The NFL does not have to wait until the civil cases are settled but may choose to do so as a way of gathering all the information from the cases presented before making a decision.