Although all matters between Washington Football Team owner Daniel Snyder and his former limited partners have been resolved, Snyder continues to pursue a defamation claim against a website that tried to tie him to the late Jeffrey Epstein. According to Daniel Kaplan of TheAthletic.com, Snyder’s latest effort targets former team president Bruce Allen.
Per Kaplan, Snyder wants to question Allen under oath, and also to secure documents in his possession, custody, or control that could be relevant to the pending litigation in India (not Indiana, India) against Meaww.com.
"[Snyder] has a good faith belief that [Allen] has specific knowledge of the creation and distribution of the MEAWW articles, and thus has information relevant to the Indian Action,” Snyder’s lawyers wrote in court papers. “The motion is not a lawsuit, but a request to the court to compel discovery to aid a foreign case, what is known as a 1782 motion.”
The effort to gather information from Allen arises from an allegation that, during the period of January 9, 2020 through November 18, 2020, Allen participated in 87 separate phone calls totaling 1,237 minutes with John Moag. An investment banker, Moag was working for the three minority owners who were trying to sell their interest in the franchise. (Moag has denied knowledge of the articles posted on Meaww.com.)
Regardless of whether they talked about the article that serves as the basis for the lawsuit, the number and duration of the conversations sparks curiosity regarding the subject(s) of their discussions. Was Allen helping Moag find buyers? Was Allen hoping that the minority partners would find a way to take over the team and re-install Allen in an executive role?
Snyder fired Allen after the 2019 season. Presumably, Allen already has been interviewed as part of the investigation conducted by the league regarding claims of workplace misconduct. He quite possibly has a much different attitude about Snyder now, given that Snyder plans to gather information with the potential goal of suing Allen directly.
Any litigation against Allen wouldn’t necessarily relate to the defamatory articles posted on Meaww.com. If, under the guise of exploring that connection, Snyder learns that Allen committed unrelated violations of actual or alleged duties to Snyder or the team, that could be the basis for one or more legal claims.
Regardless, Snyder’s quest for justice has now led to a fight with the man who ran the franchise for years. Jason Wright, take heed.