HOUSTON – Former Houston Texans linebacker Demeco Ryans’s lawsuit over allegedly poor field conditions at NRG Stadium recently found its way to federal court.
Recent Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas records show that the litigation targeting the Texans, the NFL, the Harris County Convention and Sports Corporation, and StrathAyr Turf System Pty Ltd. was transferred from the Harris County 133rd District Court early last month.
Ryans’s lawsuit, which was filed on Oct. 14, 2016, explains that he was playing the Texans as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 2, 2014 when he suffered a torn Achilles tendon.
Per the complaint, the Eagles placed the 2006 Associated Press NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and two-time Pro Bowler on injury reserve after the game and ultimately released him on Feb. 24, 2016.
Ryans asserts the injury in question ended his career.
StrathAyr was reportedly the first among the defendants to formally demand a dismissal of the suit. In documents filed on Dec. 9, 2016, the Australian company argues that the plaintiff failed to serve it in accordance with the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters.
Meanwhile, Ryans is seeking a remand back to state district court.
Ryans is the second player to have worn a Texans uniform to sue the team over NRG’s purportedly troublesome field conditions. Former punter Brett Hartmann claims he suffered a career-ending ACL injury because of similar conditions.
Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas Case No. 4:16-CV-3554
Harris County 133rd District Court Case No. 2016-70179