US: Oakland’s antitrust lawsuit against the Raiders is dismissed

Oakland’s uphill legal claim for damages from the Raiders’ impending move to Las Vegas got steeper this week when a federal magistrate dismissed, for now, the city’s lawsuit against the National Football League (NFL), reported the San Francisco Chronicle.

Chief US Magistrate Joseph Spero ruled Thursday, July 25, that Oakland hasn’t shown how it is harmed by the NFL’s limit of 32 teams, a central issue in the city’s antitrust suit. But he also gave the city until September 9 to file a revised suit to address that and other objections. A lawyer said Friday the city can meet that deadline.

The Raiders plan to move to Las Vegas for the 2020 season, although a recent agreement with the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority could keep the team in Oakland for that season if its new stadium in Las Vegas is not ready.

“We feel very confident that we can address a number of the issues that he raised,” said attorney Bruce Simon. He said the amended suit would also strengthen Oakland’s claim, rejected by Spero, that it has a right to damages under a provision of the NFL’s relocation policy requiring each team to “advance the interests of the League in its home territory.”