The Raiders "won a legal victory" in L.A. yesterday
when a federal judge ruled that "one of the team's lawsuits"
against the NFL "should proceed to trial," according to Ron
Kroichick of the S.F. CHRONICLE. U.S. Magistrate Stephen
Hillman also "ordered the NFL to produce documents the
Raiders plan to use in their defense against a lawsuit the
league filed in 1995." In that lawsuit, the NFL sought $30M
in revenue from the sale of PSLs to Raiders home games. The
Raiders then filed a countersuit claiming the league blocked
its attempt to move to Oakland in '94 and also "destroyed"
the Raiders' negotiations for a new stadium at Hollywood
Park. Raiders attorney Joseph Alioto: "The NFL was
confident it would win a judgement in its favor without
going to trial. Now, they have to go to trial. ... We've
defeated the NFL in every jury trial we've had against them,
and we'll do it again." NFL Dir of Communications Greg
Aiello said the league had no comment. Aiello said that the
trial "may not begin" until May '98 (S.F. CHRONICLE, 5/29).
