Court Ends Raiders Lawsuit Against NFL

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http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/02/ap3878405.html

Court Ends Raiders Lawsuit Against NFL

The California Supreme Court on Monday ended the Oakland Raiders' long-standing lawsuit that claimed the NFL sabotaged the team's effort to build a stadium at Hollywood Park in Los Angeles.

The case dates back more than 20 years when Raiders managing partner Al Davis accused the league of purposely not doing enough to help the team move from the antiquated Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to a new stadium complete with revenue-generating luxury suites.

The Raiders returned to Oakland in 1995 after spending 13 years in Los Angeles.

The NFL won a 9-3 verdict in 2001, but Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Richard Hubbell (nyse: HUBA - news - people ) ordered a new trial amid accusations that one juror was biased against the team and Davis, and that another juror committed misconduct.

A state appeals court overturned that decision, and the Supreme Court unanimously ruled Monday that the verdict against the Raiders stands.The juror said he joked that he hated the Raiders because he had once wagered on the team and lost. The juror claimed he made the comment as a way to ease tensions during deliberations and that none of his colleagues took the joke seriously.

Two jurors testified that they did take the comments seriously and warned the joking juror that he was showing bias, but other jurors disagreed with that representation.

The Supreme Court also declined to order a new trial based on accusations that a second juror, who was a lawyer, gave other jurors information about the law that the judge did not provide. Once again, the justices said jurors' recollection of deliberations were at odds on the issue.

The Supreme Court said it tossed out the team's lawsuit because jurors' recollection of deliberations were "sharply conflicting on every material issue, and the Raiders submitted no other evidence to support their motion for a new trial."

The ruling Monday was the last of several lawsuits the Raiders had outstanding against the league and its stadium landlords. "A clean sweep is a fair characterization," said NFL attorney Greg Levy. A lawyer and spokesman for the Raiders didn't immediately return telephone calls and e-mail inquiries.

In November, the Raiders and the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority ended a decade of legal acrimony by dropping existing lawsuits and ending the seat-licensing plan known as personal seat licenses or "PSLs."