The National Football league was sued for allegedly violating relocation policies when team owners approved the Charger's move from San Diego to Los Angeles.
On behalf of resident Ruth Henricks, the suit was filed on Monday in San Diego Superior court by former San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre and former San Diego Chief Deputy City Attorney Maria Severson. In the suit, all NFL team owners and the city of San Diego are named as defendants, and a demand was made to the city of San Diego to file suit, but "with no response, this taxpayer action is filed."
The suit alleges that even with the team taking millions in taxpayer dollars and despite numerous efforts from city leaders to keep the team in San Diego, Chargers owner Dean Spanos "had already made up his mind to move the team to Los Angeles" by 2006. According to the suit, the Chargers breached the league's relocation policy by failing to negotiate in good faith with city officials over retaining the team locally.
"Suing the National Football League is a costly and uphill battle, as Mr. Aguirre himself has stated in interviews, and his lawsuit on behalf of taxpayers is at its earliest stage. Given that city taxpayers would be the recipient of any damages and restitution the court may award if litigation prevails, we wish Mr. Aguirre success in this effort," according to Mayor Todd Gloria and City Attorney Mara Elliott issued a joint statement that said.
In a 1997 public statement, Spanos told Chargers fans that the team would remain in San Diego unless the franchise suffered "severe financial hardship”. The suit cites Spanos's statement, arguing the Chargers were worth more than $1 billion as of 2017 when the move to Los Angeles was announced.
According to the suit, "a substantial expenditure of public funds" related to establishing a new San Diego stadium or upgrading the existing stadium, and "there were no good faith negotiations from the Chargers or the NFL".
