City Of Seattle Files Motion Seeking To Exclude Sonics Evidence
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Seattle Files Motion To Exclude Sonics'
Evidence In Trial Over KeyArena Lease |
Attorneys for the city of Seattle asked U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman to prohibit Sonics Owner Clay Bennett from “delving into how much time and money he spent trying to persuade state lawmakers to approve a $500[M] arena in Renton,” according to Jim Brunner of the SEATTLE TIMES. In the motion filed as part of the city’s lawsuit seeking to hold the Sonics to their KeyArena lease that expires in 2010, Seattle claims the sincerity of Bennett’s efforts is “irrelevant to whether the Lease is valid, fair, or clear; whether damages are an adequate remedy for breach of the Lease.” The city also filed motions asking Pechman to exclude a poll conducted for the Sonics in January that found that “nearly two-thirds of 600 Seattle-area residents believed the team’s departure would ‘make no difference’ or that they would be ‘better off.’” By contrast, 57% of those polled said that they would be “upset if the Mariners or Seahawks left.” Seattle also sought to exclude any evidence of “‘dysfunction’ in the relationship between the city and the team,” evidence about a potential Sonics ownership group led by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and statements by Seattle City Council members if the Sonics are “claiming those statements represent the city’s official position with regard to the team” (SEATTLE TIMES, 5/29). The city in its motion to exclude evidence about Ballmer argues that it "has a right to enforce its lease, there is nothing wrong with having discussions with a local group interested in bringing an NBA franchise to a renovated KeyArena, and therefore, all the Ballmer-related evidence is irrelevant and inadmissible" (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 5/29).
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