Rams Owner, NFL File Petition to Move Trial Out of St. Louis

Attorneys for Rams owner Stanley Kroenke and the National Football League are seeking another exit from St. Louis.

A petition filed to the Missouri Court of Appeals’ Eastern District argued that the St. Louis judge overseeing the breach-of-contract and unjust-enrichment case erred in denying the change-of-venue motion in August.

The attorneys wrote in the Oct. 1 filing that the defendants in the case — Kroenke and the 31 other NFL team owners at the time of the 2017 lawsuit, along with the NFL — “will be denied their constitutional right to a trial before a fair and impartial jury” if the trial, set for Jan. 10, remains in St. Louis.

The plaintiffs are seeking to recoup lost city, county, and state tax revenue, along with other damages that could potentially reach into the billions. Conduct Detrimental was the first to report on Friday’s filing.

Kroenke and the NFL have been unsuccessful with the courts in the case, which was filed by St. Louis, St. Louis County, and the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority.

• In March 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the defendants’ petition that argued the case should be handled in arbitration.
• The defendants were denied summary judgement on Sept. 13 that effectively would have ended the case.

On Sept. 22, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that required six current or former NFL team owners to turn over financial documents in the case or face a $1,000 fine each day.