SIDELINES : Bills’ Jim Kelly Beats Back Suit

Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly today beat back a lawsuit filed by a woman who claimed she suffered tooth damage when Kelly threw beer-filled balloons at her during a picnic.

Marlene Edbauer’s claim that she needed root-canal work after being hit in the face with a balloon boiled down to a credibility contest between her and Kelly, and she lost, Buffalo City Court Judge Michael L. Broderick said.

“A review of the evidence leaves unreconciled gaps and conflicts in plaintiff’s proof,” Broderick said. “The proof itself was replete with conflicts, contradictions, exaggerations, distortions and confusion.”

Edbauer had been seeking $250,000 from Kelly, who signed a $20 million contract recently that made him the NFL’s highest-paid player. After testimony concluded last week, she reduced her claim to $25,000.

Kelly was not present for the verdict.

Edbauer, 40, of Clarence, said she was hit in the face with a balloon during an Aug. 16, 1987, picnic sponsored by a now-defunct Williamsville bar. The blow caused a plastic cup to shatter against her face, damaging her front tooth so that it subsequently needed a root canal, she said.