Third Circuit Delivers Antitrust Victory to the NFL

The Third U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a district court’s ruling that a municipal taxpayer lacked standing to sue the National Football League for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1-2, and the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 15.   Specifically, the appeals court found that Warnock, who was claiming that the NFL illegally coerced his municipality into a building a stadium and obtained favorable lease terms, was neither a “competitor or customer” of the NFL.