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Ex-Cowboys player seeks damages for injuries from facility collapse

A player injured in last year's collapse of the Dallas Cowboys practice facility is suing companies associated with the team and the companies involved in the structure's construction.

Tight end and long snapper Jamar Hunt, a free agent who sustained a neck injury when the tent-like building fell during a rookie camp, is the first player to sue over the incident.

"It pretty much knocked him out of football altogether," Dallas attorney Michael Guajardo said of his client.

The suit accuses Summit Structures LLC of Allentown, Pa., and its Canadian parent, Cover-All Building Systems Inc., of poor design and construction of the facility. It also says entities controlled by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones would have discovered problems with the building had their outside engineers checked Summit and its related company's work. The Jones companies named in the lawsuit are Blue Star Development Co., Blue Star Land L.P. and Cowboys Center Ltd.

Hunt's filing also accuses Summit companies of misleading the Cowboys about the quality of repairs made to the building in 2008.

"This misrepresentation was a producing cause of the injuries sustained by Jamar Hunt," the suit says.

The 86-foot-tall practice facility fell apart during a thunderstorm in May 2009. Of about 70 people inside, 12 were injured as they tried to flee. Scouting assistant Rich Behm was paralyzed below the waist. Special teams coach Joe DeCamillis suffered a broken neck but was not paralyzed.

Behm and DeCamillis also sued Summit, Cover-All and the Jones companies over the incident. They settled out of court with Summit and Cover-All earlier this year. The terms of those agreements, which did not include the Jones companies, were not made public.

Hunt is suing the companies by intervening as a plaintiff in DeCamillis's suit.

The Jones businesses, meanwhile, also are suing Summit and Cover-All.

Guajardo said that he had to overcome legal procedures arising from Cover-All's bankruptcy filing before he could file the suit, which was filed in Dallas County District Court in April.

He said Hunt, who attended the University of Texas-El Paso, now lives in Utah and works in sales. He said while Hunt sustained the kind of injury that many veteran NFL players' careers overcome, his client didn't have a history in the league that made teams want to overlook his injury.

"With a rookie who doesn't have a proven track record in the NFL, the teams are reluctant to take them," he said.

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