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R. Williams Files Papers Asking $8.6M Award Be Tossed
The arbitrator who ruled Ricky Williams owes the Miami Dolphins $8.6 million for breach of contract disregarded Florida and Louisiana law, his attorney said in asking that the award be set aside.
In the papers filed Friday in federal court, Edward Soto contends that arbitrator Richard Bloch "made no attempt to determine whether the stipulated damage amounts bore any reasonable relationship suffered by the Dolphins as a result of Williams' retirement."
Bloch ruled in September that the running back owes the Dolphins $8,616,353 for the breach of contract -- a figure Williams says represents about 140 percent of the money Miami paid him during two seasons, and about 52 percent of the total salary he received in his career with the Dolphins and New Orleans Saints.
"There was no lawful basis for the arbitrator to take this action," the court papers said.
Williams and the NFL Players Association are asking the court for a new arbitration hearing, one where he could present evidence rebuking the Dolphins' damage claim.
A call placed to Williams' New York-based attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, was not returned Monday. Dolphins spokesman Harvey Greene declined comment.
The Dolphins are suing Williams in federal court, seeking the money Bloch ruled the retired running back owes the club.
Williams gave up the $5 million he would have earned this season, which would have been his sixth in the NFL. He's studying holistic medicine at the California College of Ayurveda in Grass Valley, Calif., and told CBS' '60 Minutes' in an interview aired Sunday that the Dolphins' dismal season is not his fault.
Williams, who retired without warning shortly before the start of training camp, rushed for 3,225 yards in two seasons with the Dolphins, including a league-leading 1,853 yards in 2002. They acquired the 1998 Heisman Trophy winner in a trade with New Orleans after the 2001 season.
Last month, Williams decided not to accept a deal that would have allowed him to serve a four-game suspension this season -- a move that would have allowed him to return to the NFL in 2005.
Source: AP
In the papers filed Friday in federal court, Edward Soto contends that arbitrator Richard Bloch "made no attempt to determine whether the stipulated damage amounts bore any reasonable relationship suffered by the Dolphins as a result of Williams' retirement."
Bloch ruled in September that the running back owes the Dolphins $8,616,353 for the breach of contract -- a figure Williams says represents about 140 percent of the money Miami paid him during two seasons, and about 52 percent of the total salary he received in his career with the Dolphins and New Orleans Saints.
"There was no lawful basis for the arbitrator to take this action," the court papers said.
Williams and the NFL Players Association are asking the court for a new arbitration hearing, one where he could present evidence rebuking the Dolphins' damage claim.
A call placed to Williams' New York-based attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, was not returned Monday. Dolphins spokesman Harvey Greene declined comment.
The Dolphins are suing Williams in federal court, seeking the money Bloch ruled the retired running back owes the club.
Williams gave up the $5 million he would have earned this season, which would have been his sixth in the NFL. He's studying holistic medicine at the California College of Ayurveda in Grass Valley, Calif., and told CBS' '60 Minutes' in an interview aired Sunday that the Dolphins' dismal season is not his fault.
Williams, who retired without warning shortly before the start of training camp, rushed for 3,225 yards in two seasons with the Dolphins, including a league-leading 1,853 yards in 2002. They acquired the 1998 Heisman Trophy winner in a trade with New Orleans after the 2001 season.
Last month, Williams decided not to accept a deal that would have allowed him to serve a four-game suspension this season -- a move that would have allowed him to return to the NFL in 2005.
Source: AP