Raiders Receive Good News on Legal Front

The Oakland Raiders, in their long-running court battle with the NFL over who owns the rights to the Los Angeles market, scored a victory Wednesday when the California Supreme Court unanimously agreed to review whether a lower court properly dismissed the team’s appeal.

The Raiders, who in 2001 lost the $1.2-billion lawsuit by a 9-3 verdict, were subsequently granted a new trial by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Richard Hubbell amid accusations of juror misconduct. But an appellate court overturned Hubbell’s decision in February, prompting the Raiders to turn to the state Supreme Court. All seven justices voted to review the appeal.

“The fact that they granted review allows us to maintain that the Raiders were denied a fair trial, as the trial court found,” Raider attorney Larry Feldman said.

According to court affidavits submitted by Raider attorneys, one juror said during deliberations that he “hated the Raiders and Raiders owner Al Davis” and would never award any damages to the team. Another juror wrote “statements of law for the jury to refer to and use,” and taped them to the wall, violating the basic rule that jurors get their instructions from the judge only.

The Supreme Court did not say when it would hear the case.

In a written statement, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said, “The jury ruled in our favor in this case, and the appellate court upheld that decision unanimously. We are confident that when the California Supreme Court reviews the facts it will reach the same conclusion.”