The National Football League (NFL) was denied a change of venue this week by St. Louis City Circuit Judge Christopher McGraugh who presides over litigation that alleges it failed to comply with relocation rules when the Rams fled to Los Angeles.
“It's a final order because the only person that could make that decision is Judge McGraugh who’s been hearing the case,” said Randy Karraker, 101 ESPN Radio morning host. “My understanding is that it cannot be appealed and it’s also my understanding that even if the NFL had received a change of venue, the NFL would only get the benefit of moving it to a neighboring county so I don't know how much benefit they would have gotten from a change of venue anyway.”
NFL attorney Robert Haar's argument in support of relocating a jury trial outside of St. Louis included damages potentially awarded that would benefit St. Louis, according to Karraker.
“The basis of the NFL’s argument was that St. Louis jurors would act in their own interest, that they would be concerned about a loss of jobs in the city, that they would have civic pride for the city, and that they would be concerned about economic development in the city,” he told the St. Louis Record.
The St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority, the City of St. Louis, and the County of St. Louis sued the Los Angeles Rams and Rams owner Stan Kroenke in 2017 for leaving St. Louis city and county officials on the hook financially for a new stadium that was never built.
“The judge kept asking for evidence and the NFL attorney kept saying, ‘We don't have evidence but I know that St. Louis attorneys are going to appeal to the interest and the ‘heartstrings’ of St. Louis city jurors’,” Karraker said.
McGraugh further stated in open court that the defense attorneys’ undermined their position.
“I thought that was a good point because, on one hand, the NFL is saying they allowed the Rams to move because St. Louis didn't care about having the team and now they’re saying St. Louis is so angry about losing the team that they're going to punish the NFL for taking them away,” Karraker said.
McGraugh is expected to rule on the NFL’s motion for summary judgment, which would determine whether a January 2022 trial would proceed.
“Judge McGraugh said that jury selection could begin within the next month or so because the trial itself starts in January so I would think that we're going to find out about summary judgment soon,” Karraker added.