The Texas Lawbook

Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury

Judge Awards $1.8M in Fees to Disabled Ex-NFL Player’s Lawyers

U.S. District Judge Karen Gren Scholer of Dallas ruled Tuesday that even though former NFL player Michael Cloud lost his case seeking higher benefits due to his injuries on appeal, his lawyers still “achieved some degree of success on the merits” of their case and deserve to be compensated under federal law.

In a 34-page order, Judge Scholer found that the NFL and its retirement fund must pay Cloud’s lawyers at Barlow Garsek & Simon in Fort Worth $1,232,058.75 for their pretrial and trial work, $550,000 for their appellate work and $30,074.72 in costs.

Mark Curriden

Mark Curriden is a lawyer/journalist and founder of The Texas Lawbook. In addition, he is a contributing legal correspondent for The Dallas Morning News.

©2026 The Texas Lawbook.

Content of The Texas Lawbook is controlled and protected by specific licensing agreements with our subscribers and under federal copyright laws. Any distribution of this content without the consent of The Texas Lawbook is prohibited.

If you see any inaccuracy in any article in The Texas Lawbook, please contact us. Our goal is content that is 100% true and accurate. Thank you.

© Copyright 2026 The Texas Lawbook
The content on this website is protected under federal Copyright laws. Any use without the consent of The Texas Lawbook is prohibited.