St Louis sues over relocation of Rams to Los Angeles

The city of St Louis and other regional groups have filed a lawsuit against the National Football League and all its teams and owners, claiming the league violated its relocation guidelines when it allowed the Rams to leave.

The city, St Louis County and the St Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority, in a lawsuit filed in Circuit Court of St Louis City, is seeking damages totalling more than $1 billion for the move by the Rams to Los Angeles from Missouri last year.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said there was "no legitimate basis" for the lawsuit.

"While we understand the disappointment of the St Louis fans and the community, we worked diligently with local and state officials in a process that was honest and fair at all times," he said in an email.

Rams spokesman Artis Twyman said the team would not comment on pending litigation.

Since the Rams move, the San Diego Chargers have announced their relocation to the Los Angeles market for the coming season, and the Chargers and Rams will share a new stadium scheduled to open in 2019.

In March, the owners also approved the eventual Oakland Raiders' move to Las Vegas.

Charges in the St Louis lawsuit include breach of contract, unjust enrichment, fraudulent misrepresentation and business interference.

The city and other plaintiffs in a statement claim the NFL, the most popular US sports league, failed to follow its own guidelines for franchise relocation, even as it induced the city to spend "considerable time and money to generate a compelling new stadium development."

The plaintiffs said in the lawsuit they made investments in the team's home stadium based on the NFL's policy requiring teams to work in good faith to remain in their home community, but team officials were aiming to move long before they made such plans public.

"The Rams never intended to engage in good faith negotiations with St Louis," the lawsuit said.