The Bills went wide right in round one of the legal fight instituted by cheerleaders alleging wage violations. But the Bills remain confident that they’ll eventually prevail.
“The order issued today is a procedural component of the legal process and our organization remains confident in our position in this matter,” the Bills said in a statement. “For decades, the Bills have contracted with third parties to hire, train, manage and compensate cheerleaders. We are confident that the facts developed in this matter will further support our position.”
In litigation, every party expresses confidence about its position. For the Bills, the question will be whether the team can prove that, despite an obvious connection to the team, the squad is sufficiently disconnected to insulate it from liability.
Regardless of whether the Bills don’t have to compensate the cheerleaders who sued, it’s a bad look for the team if it turns out that the third party contracted to manage the squad violated the legal rights of the cheerleaders.
