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March 13, 2013

Once with a Hartford team, UFL mired in suits

East Hartford's Rentschler Field once hosted Hartford Colonials' home games.

A group of 78 former United Football League players and team staff members are suing UFL founder and chairman William Hambrecht for millions of dollars, The Associated Press reports. The league once had a Hartford franchise.

The UFL in October cancelled the second half of its 2012 season because of financial problems. The 78 plaintiffs say they haven't received any of the pay agreed upon in their contracts or in signed "personal guarantees" by Hambrecht; all 78 were associated with the Omaha (Neb.) Nighthawks and Las Vegas Locomotives. The league also had teams in Norfolk, Va., and Sacramento, Calif.

The Hartford Colonials shut down in 2011.

Attorney Andrew Rempfer, who filed the lawsuit in Las Vegas, said Tuesday the group is seeking punitive damages and attorney fees in addition to back pay.

"That'll put Bill on the hook for at least seven figures, and probably $2-$3 million," Rempfer said, referring to Hambrecht.

Phone and email messages were left with an attorney representing Hambrecht.

Former Virginia Destroyers head coach Marty Schottenheimer last fall filed a $2.3 million lawsuit against Hambrecht for unpaid wages and breach of contract. Hambrecht also faces a million-dollar lawsuit filed in January by six former Locomotives assistant coaches.

Former Sacramento Mountain Lions coach Dennis Green filed a $1.5 million breach-of-contract lawsuit against Sacramento owner Paul Pelosi last summer.

The UFL debuted in 2009, advertising itself as the best professional football outside the NFL.

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