National Football League

Court won't hear NFL arbitration case

Published Apr. 16, 2012 1:00 a.m. ET

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The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from the Cleveland Browns in the team's attempt to force into NFL arbitration a lawsuit by former center LeCharles Bentley over his career-ending staph infection.

The high court's decision Monday keeps the case — and lawsuit — in Cuyahoga County court in Cleveland.

The team had appealed a July ruling by an Ohio appeals court that said the issue isn't related to the NFL collective bargaining agreement and can be handled in county court.

Bentley says he contracted the infection while rehabbing from a 2006 knee injury at the team's suburban Cleveland facility. The team is accused of failing to tell Bentley about unsanitary conditions and other players who contracted staph.

The team argued that state and federal laws support arbitration over litigation.

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