A series of objections Northwestern filed in a New Jersey court Monday said a settlement that would leave NU as the sole defendant in the wrongful death suit by the family of former NU football player Rashidi Wheeler “should be denied.”
The objections state that the $100,000 settlement between Wheeler’s family and three companies were made without NU’s consent — despite NU’s claims against the companies, specified in a counterclaim.
The objections also claim the settlement is too small to cover the companies’ alleged liability in Wheeler’s death. The settlement shifts “a disproportionate share of liability to Northwestern.”
Vice President of University Relations Alan Cubbage said the settlement between the drug companies and the family ignores NU’s claims.
“In order to have a full and fair trial, it is important — in fact it’s imperative — that all of the parties in this lawsuit be involved at one time,” Cubbage said.
The settlement would drop the companies that produced and distributed the performance-enhancing supplement ephedra from the suit. These companies — General Nutrition Corp., Phoenix Laboratories and Nutraquest Inc. — would pay $25,000 each to Wheeler’s family. Nutraquest, which filed for bankruptcy in 2003, would have paid an additional $25,000.
NU would pay $100,000 less in damages if it is found liable for Wheeler’s death under the settlement. The settlement would also return the case to Cook County Circuit Court.
The New Jersey bankruptcy court planned to rule Monday on the settlement, but delayed its ruling until Nov. 1 to hear responses from the companies and Wheeler’s family.
Linda Will, Wheeler’s mother, said NU’s objections are just another scheme to keep the case out of Chicago.
“Northwestern will stop at no means to prevent the case from coming back to Cook County, because once the community and all the parents are aware of all the facts in the case … I think (the individuals named in the suit) will all be run out of town,” said Will, who initially filed a wrongful death suit against NU in 2001.
Cubbage said any fault should be directed at the drug companies.
“We continue to believe that the cause of the unfortunate death of Rashidi Wheeler was that he ingested ephedra-containing supplements — supplements that have since been banned by the (Food and Drug Administration) and that led to the heart condition and ultimately to his death,” Cubbage said.
Attorneys for GNC, Phoenix Labs and Nutraquest did not return calls Tuesday. But Linda Will has maintained that NU’s coaches and trainers were behind her son’s death.
Will claims that the unofficial summer conditioning drill her son participated in at NU was excessive. After he collapsed, she claims NU was negligent in treating him, which served as the grounds for the suit she brought three years ago.
Reach Dan Strumpf at [email protected].
