ST. LOUIS — Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke sat for a deposition this week in St. Louis' lawsuit against the team and the National Football League over the Rams' move in 2016.
The deposition, held virtually because of the pandemic, lasted two days, taking place Wednesday and Thursday, according to people familiar with the matter. Kroenke offered his testimony from Los Angeles. It marks a significant milestone in the case, filed in 2017, as Kroenke's words figure to be a key factor.
Kroenke was questioned by Bob Blitz, of St. Louis-based firm Blitz, Bardgett & Deutsch LC, who is representing the plaintiffs. Jerry Carmody, of Clayton-based Carmody MacDonald PC, represented Kroenke during the deposition. Neither lawyer's firm responded to requests for comment. A message left at Kroenke Sports & Entertainment wasn't immediately returned.
Any transcript of Kroenke's testimony isn't public; the case is under a protective order from the St. Louis Circuit Court. It would figure to become available if the case proceeds to trial, which is currently scheduled for Oct. 25.
The lawsuit, filed by the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority (RSA), the city of St. Louis and St. Louis County, claims that the league, among other things, didn't follow its own relocation policy in allowing the Rams to leave St. Louis for Los Angeles. If the three entities win the lawsuit, they could be awarded millions — possibly upward of $1 billion — in damages. The RSA, a public entity, spent more than $17 million in a failed bid to build the Rams a Mississippi riverfront stadium, an effort abandoned when the team left.
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