Patriots Fans' DeflateGate Lawsuit Against Goodell, NFL Thrown Out By Judge
BOSTON (CBS) -- A lawsuit filed by New England Patriots fans against the NFL, Commissioner Roger Goodell, and Patriots owner Robert Kraft over DeflateGate has been thrown out by a U.S. District Court judge.
Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV on Friday denied a motion filed by the fans to move forward with their lawsuit, which cited, among other complaints, emotional distress over the league's vacating of the Pats' 2016 first round pick and a fourth round pick in 2017.
READ: Judge's Order Denying Patriots' Fans Motion To Move Lawsuit Forward
"After reviewing the complaint, it appears highly unlikely that plaintiffs will succeed on the merits of any of their claims," wrote Saylor.
The seven Patriots fans, from Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Florida, accused the league and its commissioner of both of fraud and negligence. Their suit claimed they would "suffer irreparable injury" due to the team's draft picks being vacated.
Another of the plaintiffs claimed the DeflateGate saga caused his seven-year-old daughter to look for another team to root for, leaving him "devastated."
But Saylor wrote that the law would not play a part in easing their pain.
"Among other deficiencies, plaintiffs are not likely to succeed in establishing that they have standing to assert the claims in the complaint; that they were parties to any relevant contract, express or implied; that the defendants owed them any relevant duty of care; or that there is any legally cognizable injury for which the law will provide relief," he wrote.
Saylor said that the cost to taxpayers of allowing the motion to progress to the hearing stage would be too great.