A lawsuit filed by six current and former players against the NFL and its union seeking to recoup $20 million they lost in an alleged fraud scheme is moving forward. A judge denied a motion to dismiss, meaning the case in federal court in Atlanta can proceed. No trial date has been set. The NFL and the NFL Players Association contended the lawsuit filed last June should be thrown out partly because under the league's collective bargaining agreement, players are solely responsible for their own finances. They also argued that the agreement requires arbitration, not litigation, of disputes such as the ones raised in the lawsuit. But U.S. District Judge Julie E. Carnes said in an order dated March 29 that the league and union also have duties to the players under state law and there is nothing in the record at this point to suggest the labor agreement pre-empts that. "Because the court cannot determine at this time whether the union agreed to expand the rights and duties it owed to plaintiffs under the collective bargaining agreement, the court will not dismiss plaintiffs' allegations at this stage," Carnes wrote.