LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - Having lost Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles, the Cincinnati Bengals now have no intention of fighting a former player's Workers' Comp claim there.
The Bengals filed a lawsuit March 18 in Los Angeles federal court against Chris Manderino, who played on-and-off with the team from 2006-2008. Manderino is a California resident and has filed a Workers' Compensation claim there.
But the Bengals note they are an Ohio corporation and didn't play a single game in that state while Manderino was with them.
"There is no affiliation between California and the underlying controversy, i.e., Manderino's alleged workplace injury," says the suit, which seeks a declaratory judgment that his claim be processed in Ohio.
"Manderino's employment contract with the Bengals contained a choice of law/choice of forum clause agreeing that any workers' compensation claim, dispute, or cause of action arising out of Manderino's employment with the Bengals would be governed exclusively by the laws of the State of Ohio and brought solely and exclusively before the Industrial Commission of Ohio."
The Bengals lost Super Bowl LVI to the Los Angeles Rams 23-20 in February at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. They are represented by Timothy Peterson of Bober, Peterson & Koby