Dowd Bennett continues drive against the NFL, Rams and Stan Kroenke
The City of St. Louis, St. Louis County, and the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority (RSA) have secured several significant victories in their April 2017 lawsuit against the NFL, Rams, and NFL teams and owners arising out of the Rams’s 2016 relocation from St. Louis to Los Angeles.
Most recently, on August 21, 2018, the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the Circuit Court’s denial of the request by the Rams and Stan Kroenke to send the case to arbitration. The Court of Appeals agreed with the Plaintiffs that there is no arbitration agreement applicable to Plaintiffs’ claims, and the case will proceed in the trial court. Earlier this year, on April 3, 2018, the Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the Circuit Court’s denial of the NFL’s attempt to dismiss on jurisdictional grounds many of the parties named in the lawsuit. On December 27, 2017, the Circuit Court also denied Defendant’s motion to dismiss each count of the lawsuit for failure to state a claim.
The City, County, and RSA have sued the NFL, Rams, and NFL teams and owners for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, fraudulent misrepresentation, and tortious interference with business expectancy. The lawsuit seeks damages, including restitution to the plaintiffs of the wrongfully-obtained $550 million relocation fee and punitive damages.
The City, County and RSA are represented by James F. Bennett, Edward L. Dowd Jr. and Michelle D. Nasser of Dowd Bennett LLP and Robert D. Blitz and Christopher O. Bauman of Blitz Bardgett & Deutsch LC. The April 2017 petition and the Courts’ December 2017 and August 2018 orders are available below.
2017.12.27 Order Denying Application to Compel Arbitration
2017.12.27 Order Denying Motion To Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim
2018.08.21 Opinion Denying Appellant’s Motion to Compel Arbitration