WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - The National Basketball Association is fighting the claims of a referee who went from the court to the courtroom after being fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.
Kenneth Mauer seeks a lump sum payment of his retirement benefits but the NBA says another lawsuit he filed months earlier creates a conflict with that request, as it could lead to his reinstatement.
A July 17 motion to dismiss in New York federal court also says the pension committee of the NBA Referees Pension Plan can only be overturned by a judge if it is found its decision to deny the lump sum is arbitrary and capricious.
"Although there is no dispute that Mauer will be entitled to receive a retirement benefit, the Plan's Pension Committee reasonably determined that he was not entitled to receive that benefit immediately because of uncertainty as to his retirement status that was created by another lawsuit he filed challenging the termination of his employment as a(n) NBA referee," the motion says.
Mauer has countered that his first lawsuit does not seek reinstatement to his position.
"The Committee reasonably determined, however, that Mauer was not legally precluded from amending his request for relief and seeking reinstatement, particularly if the court were to determine that he was not entitled to the front pay relief he alleges he is seeking instead," the motion says.
"Thus, while the NBA considers Mauer's discrimination claims to be without merit, there remains some level of uncertainty as to whether, if Mauer were to prevail, he could return to active employment."
According to his lawsuit, Mauer became an NBA official in 1986. He alleges that during the 2021-2022 season, the defendants required all employees to be inoculated against COVID-19 and he was denied his religious exemption request.
Mauer further alleges he was suspended without pay or retirement benefits for the 2021-2022 season and was terminated in September of 2022.