Two of seven New England Patriots fans who filed a federal case against the National Football League, Commissioner Roger Goodell and Patriots owner Robert Kraft over “Deflategate” have asked the court to be removed from the case. They are no longer interested in pursuing their claims.
The remaining fans have appealed the federal court’s recent denial of their request for a temporary restraining order seeking to prevent the NFL from giving away the Patriots’ first-round draft pick during Thursday’s televised draft.
Attorney Seth Carey of Rumford, who represents the Patriots fans, filed a motion to remove plaintiffs Michael DiMauro of Orlando, Fla., and Feihua Chang of Newton, Mass., from the case, noting only that they “no longer wish to be part of this lawsuit.”
DiMauro has since asked a Massachusetts man, James Derochea, for help to get him removed from the suit. Derochea filed his own complaint on the lost draft picks with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office in February.
According to Derochea’s request for DiMauro’s removal, he notes that DiMauro believes he was misled when he agreed to join the suit. According to Derochea, DiMauro said “he was never apprised that Patriots owner Robert Kraft was going to be included as a defendant.” And, that Kraft was not included in the final draft of the original motion for temporary restraining order that DiMauro and other plaintiffs reviewed and approved before Carey filed it with the U.S. District Court in Boston.
In his letter seeking to hire Derochea, DiMauro wrote, “I would like to back out of the case. I decided not to continue on the case as a plaintiff because I was lied to about Kraft from my lawyer,” according to court records.
“I do support the Patriots getting their picks and money back and to free Brady, but not in this way,” DiMauro wrote.
The remaining plaintiffs are Todd Orsatti of Bristol, Conn., David Vacarro of Plainville, Mass., Fairuz Zein of Cambridge, Mass., Ken Wlodarcyzk of Sewell, N.J., and Joseph Payne of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
In early April, the plaintiffs filed suit against the NFL, Goodell and Kraft, seeking to stop the NFL from handing out the Patriots’ first-round draft pick to another team.
The fans claim they have suffered emotional damage, embarrassment and other damages by the NFL’s action revoking the New England team’s first-round draft pick following the controversial 2015 AFC championship game between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts that launched “Deflategate.”
Judge Dennis Saylor denied the plaintiffs’ request for a temporary restraining order without a hearing, ruling that “after reviewing the complaint, it appears highly unlikely that plaintiffs will succeed on the merits of any of their claims.” And, given that federal courts are funded by taxpayers, Saylor wrote “it would not be a prudent expenditure of those resources to permit the motion to progress to the hearing stage.”
Carey has since filed an appeal of that order, provided the plaintiffs are not required to pay court costs because they do not have the funds to pay fees.
According to court records, Carey describes the appeal as “a simple matter” of whether plaintiffs have standing to secure a temporary restraining order against the NFL as “defendants have injured them by taking away their beloved team’s first-round draft choice, without merit or valid reason.”
He argues that the “altruistic plaintiffs (are) trying to right a wrong on behalf of the subjugated peoples everywhere,” and that the plaintiffs’ First Amendment right to “petition government through its courts to redress one’s grievances with it is the alternative to violent revolution against government.”
Carey cites the Declaration of Independence as grounds for plaintiffs’ right to proceed with the case, noting the “Colonies had no way to compel the king to redress their grievances with his rule, short of rebellion.”
Defendants NFL and Goodell have opposed the plaintiffs’ request to proceed, noting none of them have submitted financial affidavits proving they are unable to pay required court costs.
The NFL and Goodell are being represented by Boston attorneys John Bueker and John Donovan.
On Monday, attorneys Charles Solomont, Emma Diamond Hall and Daniel Goldberg of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Boston each filed appearances as counsel for Kraft.
The NFL draft will be broadcast live on ESPN starting at 8 p.m. on Thursday.
jmeyer@sunjournal.com
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that Massachusetts resident James Derochea is not an attorney.
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