Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Joe Gray
"affirmed his tentative ruling" of last month that the
Raiders "cannot sue Oakland and Alameda County for fraud,"
removing a "major argument in the team's $1.1 billion claim
for damages against the East Bay," according to Rick
DelVecchio of the S.F. CHRONICLE. Gray ruled the statute of
limitations "had run out for the Raiders' fraud claim" over
the '95 deal that brought the team back to Oakland.
City/County lead attorney James Brosnahan called the team's
case "pretty well shot" after Gray's ruling. But the fraud
claim "still stands against" Bay Area business exec Ed
DeSilva, who "played a key role in putting together the
Raiders deal," and against the firm Arthur Andersen and
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Inc. Raiders attorney Ken
Hausman "expressed confidence" the team will still be able
to present its case about the Oakland deal at a trial
"tentatively scheduled for May" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 12/19). In
CA, David Holbrook notes the ruling by Gray "could limit the
city and county's financial exposure if a jury ultimately
sides with the team at trial" (CONTRA COSTA TIMES, 12/19).
