Raiders owner Davis responds to city's lawsuit

Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis called a lawsuit filed against the team by the city of Oakland, Calif., "meritless and malicious" at the NFL owners meetings on Tuesday night, according to ESPN.

The federal lawsuit, announced by Oakland City Attorney Barbara J. Parker, alleges antitrust violations and breach of contract, and names the Raiders, the NFL and every other team in the league.

While the city does not demand that the Raiders were forced to remain in Oakland, the seven-count filing in the district court does seek restitution in the form of lost revenue, remaining debt on renovations to the Oakland Coliseum, court costs and fees, plus punitive damages.

"The City will seek a resolution for the maximum amount of damages available," Parker said in a news release shortly before filing the lawsuit. "The lawsuit will not ask the court to prevent the Raiders' move to Las Vegas or keep the team in Oakland."

Davis told ESPN he'd leave further comment to lawyers.

"My feeling is we're 3-10 and we're still relevant," said Davis. "It's a legal issue, and I'll let the attorneys make any further comment."

The Raiders received league approval to relocate to Las Vegas in March 2017. They are expected to begin playing in Las Vegas when a new stadium opens in 2020. The team still does not know where it will play in 2019, though it has proposed a lease to remain in the Oakland Coliseum for one more season.

One of the main cruxes of the city's argument is that the NFL's relocation policy is "skewed" in the favour of cities looking to get a team and biased against current host cities because each team shares a part of the moving team's relocation fee.

The suit also alleges the NFL uses its relocation policy to in essence strong-arm host cities into ponying up money for a new stadium, threatening to move a team out of that city should the funds not be raised.

The city is seeking a jury trial but makes no specific monetary demand other than amounts to be determined at trial.