CA Superior Court Judge Joe Gray has "whittled away" at
the Raiders' lawsuit against Oakland and Alameda County,
"ruling Monday that the team cannot pursue fraud allegations
against officials who lured it away from" L.A., according to
David Holbrook of the CONTRA COSTA TIMES. If the ruling
stands, "it would prevent the Raiders from seeking punitive
damages against the city and county, which operate Network
Associates Coliseum." The team could "still seek damages
for breach of contract, but a jury award in such a case
would likely be smaller than in a fraud case." While the
ruling "falls short of throwing out the Raiders' suit
entirely," it could "decrease the financial exposure of the
city and county if a jury rules against them." The ruling
also "robs the team of its argument that public officials
convinced the Raiders to return to Oakland with phony claims
of a sold-out stadium." Raiders attorneys hope to change
Gray's mind on the fraud allegations, but said they can
pursue such allegations against the private firms and
individuals who worked on the team's return (C.C. TIMES,
11/28). Gray ruled that the team "waited far too long to
file a claim of fraud against the governmental agencies"
stemming from their '95 return to L.A. CA law required the
team make the claim by the end of '96, but there "was no
evidence" that the city and county were "put on notice until
well into" '99 or '00. The team has sought $1.1B in the
suit (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 11/28).
