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San Jose files lawsuit against Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig could be compelled to testify if San Jose's lawsuit is allowed to proceed.
(Mary Altaffer / Associated Press)
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After four years of waiting for Commissioner Bud Selig to decide whether the Oakland Athletics should be granted permission to move, the city of San Jose filed an antitrust suit against Major League Baseball on Tuesday.

Lew Wolff, the managing partner of the A’s, said he had “no details” on the suit.

“I am not in favor of legal action or legal threats to solve business issues,” Wolff told The Times.

The San Francisco Giants control the rights to San Jose and have opposed the A’s proposed move. An antitrust suit would challenge those rights and, more broadly, the league’s power to determine where its teams play. Courts generally have upheld that right.

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The objective for San Jose would appear to be similar to the one achieved by former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt when he took the team into bankruptcy in 2011: It is less about winning in court than it is about obtaining a favorable settlement in exchange for keeping Selig off the witness stand.

The San Jose City Council voted in favor of the suit on Tuesday morning, according to Bay Area media reports, and a formal announcement is expected Tuesday afternoon.

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