Post by TheShadow on Jul 3, 2007 7:56:53 GMT -5
www.insidebayarea.com/
Team lawyer calls ruling 'incomprehensible'
By Paul T. Rosynsky, STAFF WRITER
It appears the Raiders' recent struggles on the field have followed the team into the court room.
The California Supreme Court ruled Monday that a 2001 verdict against the team in its lawsuit with the National Football League should stand, ending a case that began in 1999.
The ruling also ends, for the first time in at least 20 years, any litigation the team has in the
court system.
The Supreme Court ruling affirmed a decision by a state appeals court that denied the Raiders a retrial in its $1.2billion lawsuit against the NFL.
The decision stems from a 2001 Los Angeles-based trial in which the Raiders sued the NFL, claiming the league interfered with the team's deal to build a new stadium in Hollywood Park.
Though a jury in that trial ruled 9 to 3 in favor of the NFL, the Raiders successfully argued that the case should be retried because of jury bias and misconduct.
Raiders attorneys and some jurors said that at least two jury members broke the law during deliberations. One juror claimed he had lost a bet on the Raiders, hated team owner Al Davis and would never award the team damages. Another juror, who
was an attorney, supposedly directed deliberations and told the jury how to weigh evidence.
The Raiders won a ruling from a Superior Court judge for a retrial, but the NFL appealed the decision claiming the juror who claimed he lost a bet was only joking.
The appeals court ruled in favor of the NFL and the Supreme Court agreed Monday saying the judge who ordered the new trial failed to state a reason for the decision.
And without a reason, the Supreme Court said it could not order a new trial because there were too many contradictions from other jurors.
"In sum, the testimonial evidence submitted by the parties in the form of juror declarations is sharply conflicting on every material issue," wrote Supreme Court Judge Joyce Kennard. "The Raiders submitted no other evidence to support their motion for a new trial."
NFL Executive Vice President Joe Browne issued a statement saying, "We are pleased that this lengthy litigation is finally over."
Raiders General Counsel Jeff Birren called the decision "incomprehensible."
"The Supreme Court ruled that because the judge failed to insert a few words of additional explanation in the order, the Raiders should be denied a new trial," Birren said sarcastically. "The Supreme Court ruling is incomprehensible."
Last year, the team lost an appeal of another lawsuit filed against its current landlord, the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. In that case, the Raiders originally had been awarded $34 million by a jury that agreed that local leaders lied to Davis about sellouts at the Oakland Coliseum.
An appeals court overturned the verdict and said the trial should never have occurred.