A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the NFL by a group of Patriots fans angry about the league’s handling of the “Deflategate” case, saying they lacked legal standing to sue.
The lawsuit charged that the NFL violated federal racketeering laws — those designed to prosecute organized crime figures — by stripping the team of a first-round pick in the 2016 draft.
US District Judge Dennis Saylor said the fans who brought the suit lacked standing to sue the league on the team’s behalf and had failed to make an adequate case for a racketeering claim.
“Neither the complaint nor the amended complaint include any specific allegation of an injury to business or property arising out of the alleged racketeering activity,” Saylor wrote in a ruling filed late Monday.
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