WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - The District of Columbia wants its lawsuit against Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder and the National Football League sent back to where it was first filed.
Then-D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine sued Snyder, the NFL and its commissioner Roger Goodell in November in D.C. Superior Court alleging a cover-up regarding a toxic workplace culture within Snyder's team. The defendants recently removed the case to D.C. federal court.
New Attorney General Brian Schwalb is now in charge of the case. Before he was sworn in, on Dec. 30, the District filed a motion to remand the case back to Superior Court, claiming no federal claims are made in the lawsuit.
"The Team and Mr. Snyder concede, as they must, that there is generally no diversity jurisdiction where the District is a party," the motion says.
"But they rely on a narrow exception to that rule that provides diversity jurisdiction where the state 'merely asserts the personal claims of' state citizens, suggesting that the District is merely seeking monetary relief for a discrete group of consumers, and not bringing a broader civil law enforcement action.
"This argument deeply misconstrues the District's case and is contrary to precedent."
D.C. says the goal of its lawsuit is to protect citizens from fraudulent and deceptive practices.
The lawsuit says an investigation by the D.C. AG's office revealed Snyder and Goodell worked to prevent D.C. residents from learning the truth about sexual assault allegations within the franchise.
Doing so ensured the financial support of D.C. residents, the AG's office says. A sham NFL investigation was part of this effort, it says.
"(T)he NFL turned a blind eye to Mr. Snyder's extensive efforts to silence and intimidate witnesses, and the League and the Commanders entered into a secret agreement that gave Mr. Snyder the power to veto the release of the investigation's results," the motion to remand says.
"Ultimately, the NFL refused to release any detailed findings after a lengthy internal investigation."
Public reporting on the workplace culture led to an investigation by the House Oversight Committee.