By: Seth Corwin
Facts
Both the New York Jets and the New York Giants have played their home games in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and not the State of New York, since 1984 and 1976 respectively. In a lawsuit filed this past Tuesday, January 4th, 2022, plaintiff, Abdiell Suero, is challenging the franchises’ location, alleging that the Jets and Giants have engaged in false advertising, deceptive practices, Civil RICO violations, and unjust enrichment. In particular, Suero is alleging that the franchises cannot use “New York” in their names because neither play, or are based out of, New York. Suero’s complaint alleges that fans of both franchises have incurred damages through the cost and transportation to and from MetLife Stadium and through emotional and psychological damages from the franchises playing in East Rutherford.
The complaint has been filed as a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Suero and the class are seeking $2 billion in monetary damages and $4 billion in punitive damages, for a combined total of $6 billion in damages; they are also seeking for the franchises to either move back to the State of New York by 2025 or to remove “New York” from their names. The Giants have claimed that there is no merit to the claims within Suero’s complaint and will fight vigorously to have the case dismissed by the Court. The Jets have yet to comment on Suero’s complaint, but they will likely have a similar response.
Strength of Suero’s Claims
The chances of Suero succeeding on his claims against the two juggernaut football franchises seems unlikely. While the two teams may have been able to increase their profits from keeping “New York” in their names despite being in New Jersey, proving that fans have truly suffered from these facts will be an uphill battle, regardless of whether this truly is false advertising or deception.
First, there is no evidence that both franchises’ revenues have increased simply from using “New York” in their names. More likely, the franchises’ revenues have increased through the NFL’s exponential growth in the last 20 years and inflation since the franchises moved to New Jersey.
Second, Suero argues that attendance to both the Jets and Giants games is low because of the stadium’s location. Costs to get to MetLife Stadium can be rather high with some tolls costing $16 and taxis and other forms of transportation being over $100 to use. Additionally, logistics to get to MetLife Stadium are more difficult with public transportation being less of an option. However, Suero fails to consider that both the Jets and Giants have not had a winning season since 2016 (Giants went 11-5) and 2015 (Jets went 10-6). What is more probable is that the low attendance to games have been a result of the franchises’ poor on-field performance in the last five seasons and not because of the various costs and logistics to get to MetLife Stadium.
Third, Suero alleges that fans have suffered emotional and mental damage from the franchises being in New Jersey and not New York. According to Suero, “fans [have] lost their connection with the teams when they relocated to New Jersey and maintain minimal sports identification with the Giants and Jets due to their stadium being located in New Jersey.” Additionally, Suero alleges that fans are “insulted, ridiculed, harassed, tormented, and bullied by NFL fans around the [US] due to the affiliation of [the franchises] to the State of New York rather than their true home, New Jersey.” Finally, Suero asserts that himself and the class have suffered “depression, sadness, and anxiety, as well as limited and damaged eustress, self-esteem, escape, entertainment, group affiliation, and family needs as a result of [the franchises’] conduct.”
Suero’s assertion that fans maintain minimal sports identification with the franchises seems hard-pressed, given that many fans of the two teams are not from the State of New York and are from several other states including New Jersey, Connecticut, and Western Massachusetts. Additionally, the franchises are located within the New York City metropolitan area, making the argument that fans have lost connection with the team a tough argument to swallow.
Furthermore, there is no evidence to suggest that fans are insulted, ridiculed, harassed, or tormented (which is an excessive word in this instance) because the franchises are in New Jersey but refer to themselves as being in New York. More likely, both teams have not had a winning season for the past five seasons, leading to the more probable conclusion that fans are insulted and bullied because of their teams' poor on-field performance. Additionally, behavior like this is not exclusive to Jets and Giants fans, as many fans of struggling NFL and other sports franchises are subject to ridicule and jokes about how poorly their teams perform on the playing surface. Moreover, there is nothing to suggest that fans of either franchise have become depressed or suffer anxiety simply because the team is in New Jersey while referring to themselves as being from New York. As noted prior, any depression and anxiety more likely stems from the teams not playing well and poor draft decisions that have been questioned by football experts and fans over the years, not because the franchises refer to themselves as being from New York while playing in New Jersey.
Conclusion
While it is possible (though unlikely) that the Jets and Giants referring to themselves as being from New York while playing in New Jersey is deceptive and false advertising, most legal claims require that the plaintiff suffer some sort of actual injury to bring suit. This is referred to as standing. Without Suero and the class being able to prove they have suffered actual injury, it seems plausible that the Court will dismiss the case for a lack of standing.
The Jets and Giants have neither filed a motion to dismiss or an answer to the complaint as of the writing of this article, though a motion to dismiss from both franchises is likely on its way.
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