OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) — A judge dismissed the city of Oakland’s lawsuit against the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday.
This after the Raiders’ officially requested to the NFL in January 2017 to relocate from Oakland to Las Vegas, despite efforts by the city of Oakland to convince the Raiders to stay.
The city of Oakland claimed that the Raiders’ decision to leave Oakland, and the NFL’s approval of that decision, violated the antitrust laws and the NFL’s governing documents.
Under the NFL’s bylaws, any team’s relocation must be approved by at least three-quarters of all 32 NFL teams. Decisions to relocate also come with a price — paid to all other teams.
In March of 2017, the team owners voted to approve the Raiders’ relocation with a $378 million fee.
The court had previously dismissed Oakland’s complaint on a motion by the defendants (the Raiders). Oakland then filed a first amended complaint and the Raiders moved to dismiss it once again.
The court held a public hearing via video conference on April 17. The Raiders’ motion was granted and Oakland’s claim was dismissed with prejudice. All other remaining claims were all dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
The Raiders contend that any injury suffered by Oakland was indirect. The city of Oakland never directly entered a lease with the Raiders for the use of the Coliseum. Oakland and Alameda County instead leased it to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Financing Corporation, which assigned its right under the lease to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority, who in turn leased the stadium to the Raiders.
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