(KGTV) — Friday, a lawsuit against the NFL made it to court and was dismissed. It alleged that the league and those with the Chargers violated NFL policies when the team moved from San Diego to Los Angeles.
There was another case prior to this lawsuit that was presented on behalf of ticket holders, but that was dismissed in February.
Joellen Shea says the Chargers leaving was good riddance, “I was like let em go.”
The Chargers left San Diego for Los Angeles in 2017. Former fans like Sheniya Jack are still disappointed. “I felt like the Chargers had such an impact on San Diego and they had such a strong support system that why would they go from that?”
That sentiment had lawyers on behalf of a San Diego taxpayer file a lawsuit against the league at the beginning of this year. They alleged that the Chargers had plans to leave San Diego way in advance of 2017, citing a statement made by a former NFL official named Jim Steeg in 2021.
They allege this was while the City of San Diego was taking millions of taxpayer dollars to try and keep the Chargers in town.
“This is getting back for the city," shares former San Diego Chief Deputy City Attorney Maria Severson.
She furthers, "This is where the little taxpayer, one person in California actually has the power to go forward and prevent waste in the City it pays taxes.”
However, after lots of back and forth, attorneys with the Chargers and the NFL said the City of San Diego got a relocation payment when they left, and that they were aware the Chargers were moving.
An attorney on behalf of the Chargers claimed this lawsuit should have been brought up earlier. “If they did anything improper while they were here, that duped the city or took advantage of the city that’s when that claim ran."
The defense addresses claims of statements made by Jim Steegs. "Mr. Steegs not authorized to speak on behalf of the Chargers, he had nothing to do with the Chargers at the time, so whatever he might have thought, is not an admission by the Chargers whatsoever.”
A similar lawsuit was presented in St. Louis over the Rams relocation to LA. The city was awarded $790 million dollars.
The City of San Diego did not join forces with either side of the lawsuit, which was one of two issues for the prosecutors. Former San Diego City Attorney, Michael Aguirre, says they hope to take this to the appellate court. “If it was good enough for St. Louis then it should be good enough for San Diego.”
And if you are wondering what fans think?
“It’s all about monetary retribution," shares Shea. "There’s obviously some bad blood going on, and let it go, it’s been years, move on to something else.”
