Though the Tri-City ValleyCats took a loss in court against Major League Baseball last week, the minor-league ValleyCats are still getting ready for a legal showdown in November.
A Nov. 14 trial date is set for the ValleyCats’ lawsuit against MLB and the Houston Astros in New York County Supreme Court in Manhattan.
The ValleyCats are suing MLB and the Astros over the loss of their minor-league affiliation with Houston in 2020. Tri-City, which filed the suit in January 2021, claims tortious interference and seeks in excess of $15 million.
The trial is a separate matter from the antitrust suit the ValleyCats, who now play in the independent Frontier League, and three other minor-league teams are pursuing against MLB.
A federal appeals court in Manhattan ruled last Tuesday against the four minor-league clubs, but Tri-City attorney James Quinn said there’s still a “very good chance” of getting MLB’s 101-year-old antitrust exemption overturned – if the case reaches the Supreme Court.
In the November trial, the ValleyCats are co-plaintiffs with former minor-league affiliates of the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers.
Judge Barry Ostrager scheduled the jury trial for Nov. 14 with jury selection and opening statements on Nov. 13. The parties have agreed the case must be submitted to the jury by the end of the day on Nov. 21 to avoid a conflict with Thanksgiving two days later.
Quinn said Sunday in an email it is “yet to be decided” whether MLB commissioner Rob Manfred will have to testify at the trial.
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