The Giants currently are scheduled to face allegations of memorabilia fraud at a trial due to begin on March 26. The Giants have asked to delay the trial by more than two months.
According to Jim Baumbach of Newsday, the Giants have requested a continuance of the trial until June 11.
In documents filed with the court on Friday, the Giants explain that the lawyer who will be designated as the new lead counsel in the case is undergoing treatment for an undisclosed illness and also has a trial in another case scheduled for March.
The question of whether a trial will be delayed always rests within the broad discretion of the trial judge. Some judges are lenient, some aren’t. Some will grant a continuance or two before insisting that the case proceed.
Another reason for the request could be that Giants co-owner John Mara, a named defendant in the lawsuit, will be in Orlando for the annual league meetings on the day the trial is due to begin. If, however, a continuance were requested on those grounds, the lawyers could soon find themselves stammering and stuttering their way through questions from the judge as to why they didn’t previously mention Mara’s conflict when the date for the trial was being picked.
The lawsuit alleges that Giants equipment managers gave helmets and jerseys to Steiner Sports that were supposedly game-used but actually weren’t.