Oakland Coliseum Wins Oakland Raiders Lawsuit; Raiders To Appeal

Oakland Coliseum wins Raiders lawsuit
By DAVID KRAVETS, AP Legal Affairs Writer Fri Nov 17, 8:18 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO - A state appeals court on Friday threw out a jury's $34.2 million award to the Oakland Raiders over accusations that managers of the Oakland Coliseum falsely promised a sold-out stadium to lure the team back to the Bay Area.

The case dates to 1995, when Raiders owner Al Davis maneuvered to get his team out of Southern California after revenues waned, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum's foundation was shaken by an earthquake and a deal collapsed to build a new stadium and horse track.

The Oakland deal, first inked in 1995 and renegotiated a year later, gave the Raiders a $53 million loan, $10 million for a training complex and $100 million to renovate the coliseum, which they share with baseball's Oakland Athletics.

The 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento said in a 2-1 ruling on Friday that because the Raiders agreed to the deal a second time, the team forfeited its right to sue for fraud.

The coliseum, owned by the city of Oakland and Alameda County, also maintained any box office flop should be partly blamed on pricey tickets and poor performances. The team's abysmal 4-12 season in its third year after returning was one of the worst since Davis took over four decades ago.

Stadium officials also argued the team's owners got richer by returning to Oakland and that Davis was told up front where ticket sales stood when he signed the initial pact.

Raiders general counsel Jeff Birren said the team was considering an appeal to the California Supreme Court.

5321 Telegraph Ave - North Oakland Thanksgiving Shooting

OAKLAND
A family dispute ends with 3 killed, 2 in custody
Man dives from window to escape gunfire after holiday gathering turns violent
Steve Rubenstein, SF Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, November 24, 2006

Three people were killed and another wounded when a North Oakland holiday get-together turned deadly Thursday afternoon. Two men were taken into custody in connection with the shooting.

There were nine people, including a child, in the third-floor apartment at 5321 Telegraph Ave. when gunfire broke out shortly before 3 p.m. One man and two women were killed and another man wounded in the gunfire, while another man suffered a broken back when he leaped from a third-floor window to escape the bullets.

Oakland police described the incident as a family dispute gone horribly wrong.

"There was an ongoing disturbance within the group,'' which had started well before the bloody Thanksgiving shooting, said Officer Roland Holmgren, an Oakland police spokesman. He declined to elaborate on the dispute or say what connections the shooter or shooters had to the victims, whose names have not been released.

While two men were arrested, Holmgren would not say whether both men had been directly involved in the shooting.

The hail of gunfire and the heavy police response sparked near-panic in the sprawling Keller Plaza apartment complex, which sits in the shadow of Highway 24. Police SWAT teams, searching for the armed suspects, banged on doors and sent residents at home for a holiday feast scurrying out onto Telegraph Avenue with only the clothes on their backs.

About 200 people were evacuated from the apartment complex, according to a Red Cross volunteer. While most were allowed back Thursday evening, the apartments around the site of the shooting remained off-limits as police investigators continued their work.

"The police told us to get out of the building and just handed us a blanket," said one man, wrapped against the evening cold. He declined to give his name.

Helicopters circled the apartment complex as police armed with assault weapons shut down four blocks of Telegraph Avenue and moved people a block away to Shattuck Avenue as they searched for the shooters. SWAT team members, including snipers and a hostage negotiator, finally tracked at least one of the suspects to another apartment in the complex, which he had barricaded against police. But after talking with the negotiator, the man surrendered without incident. At least one of the men was taken out of the complex in handcuffs shortly after 6 p.m.

Red Cross workers were on the scene to assist displaced residents. Buses and cars were rerouted. Onlookers, at least one of whom carried a paper plate filled with Thanksgiving turkey, stood on street corners and watched the police activity.

Police Lt. Kenny Whitman said several handguns were recovered at the scene. "It was a family dispute," Whitman said. "It wasn't a robbery, and it wasn't drugs."

The names and ages of the victims and the suspects had not been made public as of Thursday evening. A spokesman for the Alameda County coroner's office said that the names of the victims were being withheld pending a "police hold" on the information. The wounded man was taken to Highland Hospital with what Whitman said was a "grazing wound.''