Eagles, Philadelphia Close To Settlement Over Dual Lawsuits

The Eagles are "close to scoring a settlement with the city in a long-running financial dispute that turned into a public fiasco earlier this year," according to Chris Brennan of the PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS. A ruling "anticipated next week in Common Pleas Court will likely mean that the team owes the city between zero and $3[M] after both sides claimed they were owed" $8M. Common Pleas Senior Judge Albert Sheppard Jr. yesterday "handed down the first half of a two-part ruling, finding that the Eagles owe the city $8[M] from skybox revenue" for the '00 and '01 seasons at Veterans Stadium. Sheppard also is "expected to rule next week on the team's counterclaim for $8[M] from a preseason game canceled in 2001 due to problems with the city-maintained playing surface." Eagles attorney Mathieu Shapiro said that he "expects Sheppard to award the Eagles between" $5-8M. Sheppard in August '05 ruled that the Eagles "owed the city revenue from the skyboxes and that the team was owed money for the missed preseason game" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 6/9). The Eagles said that they would comply with Sheppard's order for the team to "immediately pay" the $8M from skybox revenue (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 6/9).