082001P.pdf   11/10/2009  Reggie White  v.  National Football League
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  08-2001
   U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - Minneapolis   
   [PUBLISHED] [Wollman, Author, Riley and Colloton, Circuit Judges]
   Civil case - Sports law. District court did not abuse its discretion in
   denying the League's Rule 60(b) motion to amend the judgment in a case
   involving the question of whether bonus payments made to Michael Vick
   could be recovered following his conviction on federal dog fighting
   charges; the Supreme court's rationale in Brown v. Pro Football, Inc., 518
   U.S. 231 (1996) does not apply to this case and the district court's
   oversight of the settlement agreement between the players and the league
   is permissible and is not an unlawful meddling in the collective
   bargaining agreement; developments since the settlement, including
   recertification of the players union, the resumption of collective
   bargaining and the diminishing number of original class members still in
   the game, did not warrant modification of the settlement agreement;
   while the district judge would have been well advised not to opine about
   his role in enforcing an ongoing consent decree, his public comments did
   not create a reasonable perception of bias, and he did not err in denying
   the League's motion to recuse himself; to the extent the League's motion
   to recuse the judge relied on certain ex parte meetings with counsel for
   the Player's Association, the motion was untimely; the district court
   properly rejected the League's argument that Michael Vick's roster
   bonuses were signing bonuses subject to the years-performed test, and the
   court did not err in concluding that bonuses were earned, and not subject
   to forfeiture, after Vick met the roster provisions in his contract.