A group of ex-AFL stars suing the league and their clubs for concussion damage may have their claims merged, as lawyers call for the cases to be sped up.
Lawyers for former players Ty Zantuck, Liam Picken, Gary Ablett Sr and two class actions involving Max Rooke and Shane Tuck faced the first Supreme Court of Victoria hearing about their cases on Wednesday.All of the suits, except Zantuck’s, have been brought against the AFL along with clubs including the Western Bulldogs, Richmond, Geelong, Melbourne, Adelaide and Hawthorn.
But Justice John Dixon encouraged their legal teams to explore merging the claims, as they will overlap and explore similar issues.“There are not going to be multiple trials of the same issue,” the judge said. The AFL’s lawyer, Philip Crutchfield, KC, said Picken’s suit should be joined with others as it included claims the AFL did not provide sufficient education to the clubs or players about concussion management.
Griffins is representing former Melbourne star Shaun Smith, Adelaide Crows premiership player Darren Jarman and the family of the late Shane Tuck, while Margalit is representing Rooke and more than 100 former players.The judge gave the two law firms until August to decide who will take over coverage of the class actions.
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