The 49ers are “suing Santa Clara, claiming city leaders ‘falsely accused’ the NFL team of violating its contract -- and now the team wants a judge to settle the score by requiring the city to sign documents verifying no breaches occurred,” according to Ramona Giwargis of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. The lawsuit -- filed Friday in Santa Clara County Superior Court -- is the “latest salvo in an escalating war” between the team and its home city. According to legal documents, the team “isn’t asking for monetary damages.” However, it “wants a judge to provide ‘declaratory relief’ -- a legal determination about whether the team violated its contract with city leaders and Levi’s Stadium’s management company.” The 49ers “want the city to sign estoppel certificates saying they’re in compliance with their agreement -- otherwise, the city must articulate the exact breach.” The lawsuit also states the Stadium Authority has "embarked on a scheme to concoct and fabricate false accusation of breach or nonperformance ... to create a pretext for terminating the Stadium Management Agreement.” The dispute “began late last year when Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor ordered an audit of stadium finances.” The new mayor “suspected taxpayer dollars were being spent on the venue in violation of the voter-approved Measure J.” The 49ers “claim they’ve turned over documents requested by the auditors or invited them to Levi’s Stadium to view them.” But Gillmor said that the team has “refused to cooperate with the probe” (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 1/10).
