There will be no imminent ruling in the legal battle between the Washington Football Team’s three minority partners and controlling Owner Daniel Snyder while the court considers requests to make the case public, a federal judge said Thursday. Minority partners Dwight Schar, Robert Rothman and Frederick Smith are seeking a ruling that would allow them to sell their individual stakes as a single 40% unit to a buyer who has reportedly offered $900M. Snyder has blocked that move under his right of first refusal, they allege. The suit was filed last Friday under seal in U.S. District Court in Maryland. This week, lawyers for the Washington Post demanded the case be unsealed, citing the First Amendment and longstanding presumption that court proceedings should be public absent a compelling interest in privacy. In their complaint, Rothman, Smith and Schar reportedly said their negotiating window with the unknown buyer expires Nov. 25, an urgency that the Post’s attorneys cited in their request for access. However, Judge Peter Messitte told the Post that “no decision will be made in this case" by then. He added, “The Court has temporarily taken the case under advisement in order to consider certain preliminary matters.” John Moag, the investment banker representing the three minority partners, did not immediately return a request for comment. Messitte said all requests to open the case must be filed by Monday, with attorneys for both sides in the case required to reply by Dec. 1. A decision on whether to unseal the case will happen Dec. 3. Ownership disputes in the NFL are typically handled by league arbitration. League execs and other owners are especially concerned about ownership disputes in court because of the likelihood that sensitive business matters become public during the case.
