A year and a half after the Rams left the Midwest for the sun of Southern California, the court battle over their departure is beginning to move forward more substantially.
According to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, attorneys representing the Rams filed multiple motions in St. Louis Circuit Court on Tuesday.
The three motions seek to: dismiss the case for failure to state a claim, dismiss the case for lack of personal jurisdiction, and appeal to have the case determined through arbitration rather than in front of a St. Louis based jury.
The motions in the case will be decided upon by Judge Christopher McGraugh.
The suit – filed by the city of St. Louis, St. Louis county, and the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority – seeks damages and restitution of profits from the NFL, Rams and the 31 other NFL franchises for various alleged grievances. The suit claims the Rams and NFL breached its contract by violating its own relocation standards, and made intentionally false and misleading statements, unjustly enriched themselves and interfered with business expectations.
According to Thomas, the motion seeking arbitration states that all five counts should be subject to arbitration under terms of the lease held with the stadium and relocation agreement from 1995. However, the Rams terminated that lease before they moved to Los Angeles, which potentially negates that standing.
The process for McGraugh to rule on the motions is expected to take weeks. By the time a decision is made, the Rams may already be playing their second season in Los Angeles.