The lawyer plotting possible litigation against the NFL and the Raiders arising from the team’s plan to leave Oakland could be getting a few key partners for the effort.
Via Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Daily, lawyer Jim Quinn said that the “fully expects” Oakland and other local governmental entities to take part in the effort to block the move to Las Vegas or otherwise obtain legal relief arising from the team’s decision to move. Quinn explained, per Kaplan, that if Oakland agrees to participate, a decision then can be made regarding whether litigation is the proper approach.
It’s still unclear whether a lawsuit would rely on an actual or implied contract, a federal or state statute, or some principle of the so-called common law, which potentially would create legal duties based on precedent from past cases resolved by the court system. It’s likewise not known whether a lawsuit would try to keep the team from leaving or target compensation for financial losses resulting from the move.
One potential goal of the litigation could be to leverage guarantees regarding a replacement franchise, and possibly an agreement to keep the Raiders name, logos, colors, and records in Oakland. Though Art Modell agreed to that approach in 1995 when moving the Browns (which became the Ravens) to Baltimore, it’s hard to imagine Raiders owner Mark Davis abandoning the identity of the franchise.