Appeals Court Passes Defunct Franchise’s Lawsuit Against NBA to Federal Court

A New York state appeals court has ruled that the owners of a defunct American Basketball Association (ABA) franchise must pursue their claim -- that the NBA and several of its franchises violated the terms of a 35-year-old agreement -- in federal court.   The agreement in question allowed for essentially the merger of the ABA and NBA. While some ABA teams -- the Denver Nuggets, the Indiana Pacers, the New Jersey Nets and the San Antonio Spurs – received direct passage into the NBA, the K