Buffalo Bills Cheerleader Lawsuit Finally Settled After 8 Years

After 8 years a lawsuit filed by former members of the Buffalo Bills cheerleading squad The Buffalo Jills has been settled in court.

According to insideradio.com, Cumulus Radio who owned the flagship station of the Buffalo Bills and managed the Buffalo Jills at the time of the lawsuit will have to pay $4 million dollars in damages to settle the lawsuit.

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In April of 2014, Caitlin Ferrario along with four other members of the Buffalo Jills filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court alleged that Citadel Broadcasting and the Buffalo Bills owed them back pay because they were misclassified as independent contractors rather than employees which they claimed violated New York Labor Laws.

The cheerleaders claimed they were forced to make appearances but were not paid for them which worked out to around 840 hours of unpaid work per year. The lawsuit also alleged that the cheerleaders were required to model for, and sell copies of, a swimsuit calendar without being compensated for their time.

According to the settlement, Cumulus will give Ferrario and the rest of the defendants $4 million dollars in stock options while the Buffalo Bills will pay $3.5 million dollars to settle the lawsuit.

According to details of the lawsuit, Cumulus denies that it has “any legal or equitable responsibility for the damages and injuries claimed” and denies any wrongdoing. They settle because the ongoing costs of the lawsuit would outweigh the settlement amount they agreed to in the settlement. The proposed settlement between Cumulus, The Buffalo Bills, and former members of the Buffalo Jills was approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman on Tuesday.

The Buffalo Jills suspended operations in 2014 just a few days after the lawsuit was first filed in New York State Supreme Court.