ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Many former Rams fans in St. Louis had been looking forward to the trial set for October of their town against the villainous National Football League who allegedly deceived the city to steal professional football away. But a decision on Wednesday pushed the trial back to January of next year.
The delay, reportedly caused by the pandemic, may actually be a good thing for St. Louis.
Related
The St. Louis Convention Center, St. Louis City and St. Louis County is suing the Los Angeles Rams, owner Stan Kroenke and every NFL owner for an alleged $1 billion in damages caused by fraud, misrepresentation, breach of contract and tortious interference with a business expectancy. It's connected to the Rams leaving St. Louis for Los Angeles in January of 2016.
KMOX legal analyst Brad Young, partner at Harris Dowell Fisher & Young L.C., explains that St. Louis should view this latest move as a win.
Listen to the full conversation with Young on Overnight American with Ryan Wrecker, here:
He says St. Louis has had everything going right for them in this case. The Rams legal team has been denied almost everything it has tried to do, including a motion to move the case out of St. Louis and the U.S. Supreme Court denied its appeal to hear a petition.
"This delay until 2022 allows (the St. Louis litigation team) to put more pressure on the owners of the NFL to produce their cell phone records, to produce documents they don't want to produce and to submit for depositions," Young says. "It increases the likelihood there will be a settlement to this litigation."
Related
An early settlement could mean a big win for St. Louis in the sense of how much the defendants must pay in damages. However, it may be viewed as a loss because if the case doesn't go to trial, then the depositions of Kroenke, Rams COO Kevin Demoff and others involved may never become public record.
© 2020 KMOX (Entercom). All rights reserved