Sloppy Drafting Hits Anaheim

For a variety of reasons (chiefly involving putting on a conference) we didn’t pay much attention here to the resolution of the City of Anaheim’s breach of contract claim against the team formerly known as the Anaheim Angels.  A local jury found by a 9-3 vote that the Angels didn’t breach their contract with the city.

The city gave the Angels a ten-year lease on its stadium on condition that the team name “include” the word “Anaheim.”  After several years of using “Anaheim Angels,” the owner decided he could make more money by calling the team “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.”  The city sued, claiming more than $300 million in damages.  Jurors took four hours to conclude that “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim” did, in fact, include the word “Anaheim,” and that the team had not acted deceptively in changing it.

[Frank Snyder — hat tip, Joe Perillo]