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Receiver of free agent Antonio Brown continues to face a civil lawsuit for sexual assault and rape. As the case moves to a trial scheduled for December 2021, the lawyers representing the lawyers representing the plaintiff are looking for evidence to support the claims.
As part of the broad and important “discovery” process that unfolds in all civil cases, lawyers representing Britney Taylor issued proposed subpoenas to the various Brown NFL teams to obtain information about their employment. The subpoenas are for “correspondence, memos, communications, agreements, messages or other written documentation” in the possession, custody or control of the Buccaneers, Steelers, Patriots, Raiders and NFL Properties in relation to Brown. Via Matt Baker from Tampa Bay Times, the presiding judge recently ruled that subpoenas can be served against the league, the Bucs, the Patriots and the Raiders. As for the Steelers, the judge concluded that the request is “very broad and beyond the scope of the relevant discovery”.
The decision came in response to an objection by Brown’s lawyers. Individual teams and the league will have separate rights to oppose requests. From a public relations perspective, however, any effort to obstruct the investigation that is being conducted within the confines of the pending litigation against Brown may generate criticism.
It is unclear whether Taylor’s lawyers are looking for documents that could clarify Brown’s potential liability or earnings or anything potentially relevant to the claims. The standard for permitted discovery is very broad; any request reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence is a fair game.
Regardless of any documents obtained from the league or from the Bucs, Patriots or Raiders, most of the discovery information will come during Brown’s testimony. If he behaves as he did in several depositions in the lawsuit over alleged damage to a Miami luxury apartment, Taylor’s case will not go well for Brown.