Saints file brief to urge courts to drop no-call lawsuit

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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s quest to neutralize a fan’s lawsuit over the infamous “no call” NFC championship game gained an unlikely ally on Wednesday: the New Orleans Saints.

The franchise filed a friend-of-the-court brief arguing that the dispute over the “no call,” which likely cost the Saints a trip to the Super Bowl, should be settled in league boardrooms instead of the courts.

The Saints noted that they have already successfully pushed for a rule change that will allow all offensive and defensive pass interference calls or non-calls to be challenged on the field.

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“While the Saints appreciate the fervor and dedication of their deep and passionate fan-base, allowing such claims to proceed in court would open the door to countless legal claims brought by passionate sports fans that would inundate the courts and overburden sports leagues and their member teams, including the Saints,” team lawyers said.

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The Saints state in their brief that the purpose of NFL rules is to provide “finality” for all teams and warn that more litigation could open the Saints up to post-game lawsuits as well.

Attorney James Gulotta of the Stone Pigman firm writes, “one could imagine without being hyperbolic a scenario after an incident like what occurred during the NFC Championship Game where fans of both teams file parallel suits … Nor is it a slip down an illogical slope to suppose that, in week 16 of the regular season, a fan of another team frustrated by where his or her team ended up in the standings could decide to challenge the result of a Saints victory in week 6 because, if the challenge succeeded, that earlier opponent would qualify for the playoffs instead of the Saints.”

Meanwhile, the team also warned that LeMon’s lawsuit could waste precious time as the Saints prepare for the 2019 season.

“Complying with Plaintiffs’ subpoena will require the Saints to expend considerable time, effort, and resources – time, effort, and resources better spent on pursuing victories during the 2019 season and beyond,” the team says.

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