Law Firm Sued by Former NFL Players

The Daily Business Review reported that separate lawsuits have been filed in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties by former NFL players Terrell Owens, Clinton Portis and Duane Starks against the law firm Greenberg Traurig and one of its West Palm Beach shareholders, Pamela Linden.

According to the Daily Business Review, the players claim that the Miami-based Greenberg Traurig firm and Ms. Linden failed to advise them against investing in an Alabama casino that turned out to be a scam, resulting in millions of dollars in losses. According to the complaint, Terrell Owens alone invested $2 million and was promised a return of 15%.

The complaints allege that Ms. Linden and Pro Sports Financial used powers of attorney granted them by the athletes to invest in the proposed Alabama casino project know as Country Crossing.

The lawsuits claim that the players were not advised by Ms. Linden or Pro Sports that charity fundraisers are the only form of legalized gambling in Alabama and that NFL rules prohibit investments in gambling ventures. The Daily Business Review reported that the project developer, Ronnie Gilley, previously entered a guilty plea in response to federal charges involving a scheme to buy votes in Alabama for gambling legislation.