U.S. District Judge Susan Nelson on Monday ordered the NFL and the NFL Players Association to court-supervised mediation beginning Thursday in Minneapolis, Minn. Nelson, who is presiding over Brady et al v. National Football League et al, the players’ antitrust suit against the NFL, has appointed Chief Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan to serve as mediator, and ordered formal mediation to begin in Boylan’s courtroom Thursday morning.
Nelson has ordered that both sides file briefs by Monday at 5 p.m. CT. She will meet in person with the Brady class Tuesday in Minneapolis at 9 a.m., and with the NFL on Wednesday at 9 a.m.
On Monday, Nelson noted that her order to resume mediation "will not have the effect of a stay on this litigation," and that she would rule "in due course."
Nelson's involvement won't be binding, but she would have more ability to control talks than Cohen could, while overseeing an appointed mediator.
First, with Nelson overseeing the talks, only she and Boylan could declare an impasse. Second, as the sides agreed on individual issues, she or the appointed mediator could move each one off the table, making for a more efficient process, without allowing one side or the other to go back on something that was already agreed upon.
In any case, if mediation fails and Nelson rules, no matter which way that ruling goes, an appeal would be a near certainty, taking this case to the eighth circuit.
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