The NFL and NBA late yesterday filed court papers to intervene in the pending trust trial of Saints and Pelicans Owner Tom Benson, seeking to seal what the leagues consider sensitive financial information. The case is scheduled to go to trial Monday in Louisiana federal court. The judge overseeing the case last year rejected similar requests, but left open the option of the leagues coming back on a document-by-document basis.
“The NFL has an interest ... in the subject matter of this litigation, insofar as that subject matter addresses the commercially sensitive and otherwise confidential information of nonparty NFL and the 31 nonparty NFL member clubs, which has been incorporated into the trial exhibits,” the NFL wrote in its motion. The NBA’s motion was similar. Both leagues also look to excise any testimony that would emanate from the documents, which are not identified. Benson is stripping the team shares in the trusts of his disinherited heirs and replacing them with promissory notes. But two trustees contend he is undervaluing the teams.
