LOS ANGELES – An 8-man, 4-woman jury began deliberations
Monday in a lawsuit filed by the Oakland Raiders against the
National Football League, claiming the league forced the team from
the lucrative Los Angeles market by interfering in a stadium deal.
The jury will consider five claims made by the Raiders,
including breach of contract and unjust enrichment by the NFL for
taking the Los Angeles market without compensating the team.
Jurors were asked to reach one general verdict either in favor
of the Raiders or the NFL. If they find in favor of the Raiders,
they will then consider damages that could exceed $1 billion.
"We presented all the relevant evidence," Raiders attorney Joe
Alioto said Monday. "I have great confidence in the jury system."
The lawsuit is a civil case, so it will take a 9-3 vote or
better by jurors for the Raiders to win. Anything less and the NFL
will win.
Jurors reported to the courtroom Monday morning. Superior Court
Judge Richard C. Hubbell immediately ordered them to begin
deliberations. He issued instructions last week and eight hours of
closing arguments were presented Thursday and Friday.
At the center of the case is Raiders owner Al Davis, who moved
the Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles in 1982, then back to
Oakland in 1995. Davis attended the trial from start to finish and
spent five days on the witness stand.
Lawyers for the Raiders claimed the NFL forced the team to leave
Los Angeles by pushing for a second team to play at a new stadium
proposed for Hollywood Park in nearby Inglewood.
The league contended the Raiders never made a firm commitment to
the Hollywood Park stadium and only used the situation to get a
better deal out of Oakland, where the team eventually accepted a
deal providing $63 million in upfront payments, loans and other
benefits.
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