Getty Tommylee Lewis #11 of the New Orleans Saints drops a pass broken up by Nickell Robey-Coleman #23 of the Los Angeles Rams during the fourth quarter in the NFC Championship game on January 20, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
A New Orleans attorney has filed a lawsuit asking the courts to take action after the New Orleans Saints lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game, following a missed pass interference call that might have allowed the team to win. Frank D’Amico Jr. is filling the suit on behalf of season ticket holders, while other lawyers are considering their own lawsuits. D’Amico’s suit is alleging mental anguish and other damages as a result of the missed call. Here’s what you need to know about this lawsuit and others that may follow.
1. The Lawsuit Is Based on a Missed Pass-Interference Call That Might Have Cost the Saints the Super Bowl
The lawsuit is based on a missed pass interference call during a third-down play. If pass interference had been called, it could have changed the outcome of the game. Rams’ Nickell Robey-Coleman “rammed” into Tommylee Lewis long before the ball arrived, and flags were mysteriously absent in a scene that most football fans could have called themselves. Without pass interference being called, the Saints had a field goal instead of a possible touchdown.
Twitter exploded with reactions to the glaringly missing call.
Not only was that pass interference, the DB could have had a pick 6 if he would have played sound coverage looking for the ball.
“nah that wasn’t pass interference”
No pass interference call
The Rams ultimately won in overtime 26-23. Fans believe that the proper call could have changed the entire outcome of the game and sent the Saints to the Super Bowl instead. Apparently they aren’t the only ones who believe this. One lawsuit has been filed and more may be on the way.
Even the NFL has admitted they made the wrong call, 247 Sports noted. The NFL admitted to Coach Sean Payton after the game that the officials were wrong.
Payton said he just got off the phone with the league and admitted the call was blown.
Sean Payton already called the league office #Saints
2. Frank J. D’Amico Jr. Filed the Suit Asking the NFL To Enforce Rule 17, Section 2, Article 1
D’Amico, a New Orleans attorney, filed the civil suit based on Rule 17, Section 2, Article 1 in the NFL Rulebook. The rule shows that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell could have the power to reverse the outcome of an NFC title game and replay that part of the contested game.
Here is the full D’Amico statement: See full story @wdsu in last tweet. @stephgosk @NBCNews @AP @NFL
CBS Sports noted that much of the attorney’s initial statement seemed to be taken from a Pro Football Talk article. The statement reads, in part: “And here’s where it gets even juicer, Consider Rule 17, Article 3: ‘The commissioner’s powers under this Section 2 include … the reversal if a game’s result or the rescheduling of a game, either from the beginning or from the point at which the extraordinary act occurred.’ … Basically, the Commissioner has the power to turn back time to the spot of the penalty that wasn’t called, put the teams back on the field from that point in the game, give the Saints first and goal at the spot of the foul, put 1:49 on the clock , and let the game proceed, tied at 20, with the Rams having one time out left.”
D’Amico himself admitted in a statement that it’s likely the game won’t be replayed as a result of the lawsuit, but it’s worth a try. He’d ideally like the last 1:49 of the game to be replayed, when the game was tied at 20.
Article 2 states: “The Commissioner will not apply authority in cases of complaints by clubs concerning judgmental errors or routine errors of omission by game officials.” That makes the success of the lawsuit seem unlikely, but maybe the requests from fans can be viewed as a loophole. 247 Sports points out that the rule is in place for extreme circumstances like a fan running onto a field, not a missed call.
3. The Lawsuit Was Filed on Behalf of Season Ticket Holders & Alleges Mental Anguish & Emotional Trauma
D’Amico filed the suit in the Civil District Court for Orleans Parish on behalf of named Saints season-ticket holders Tommy Badeaux and Candis Lambert, The Advocate reported. Badeau is a lawyer in D’Amico’s office and Lambert is a local nurse, Action Network noted.
Roger Goodell is named as one of the defendants.
According to Darren Rovell of the Action Network, the lawsuit alleges mental anguish and emotional trauma, loss of faith in the NFL, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of entertainment, and distrust of the game.
Damages in Saints ticket holder lawsuit against the Roger Goodell & the NFL include:
Mental anguish & emotional trauma
Loss of faith in the NFL
Loss of enjoyment of life
Loss of entertainment
Distrust of the game
The lawsuit isn’t seeking a dollar figure in damages, but asks for a hearing before the Super Bowl, The Advocate noted. The lawsuit reads, in part: “As a direct result of the said incident, plaintiffs herein have been left bereft and with no faith in the National Football league for fairness despite the league’s own rules to correct such errors, along with emotional anguish, monetary loss for ticket holders, who purchases tickets with the presumption of integrity and fairness.”
As D’Amico Jr.’s law office stated on Facebook, they are not seeking financial damages for this case. They wrote: “The petition filed by our office was not a petition for damages, but rather a petition for a Writ of Mandamus which seeks equitable relief and NOT monetary damages. A writ of Mandamus action is filed to compel a corporation (in this case the NFL) to follow its own laws, rules, or guidelines. Our office is not seeking any kind of financial damages from this filing, rather this lawsuit is about holding the league and Roger Goodell accountable for the blatant (mis)actions of its employees and maintaining the integrity of the NFL…”
4. A Hearing Has Been Scheduled for Monday at 10 a.m.
Breaking: Frank D’Amico says a hearing is scheduled for Monday @ 10AM before Hon. Piper Griffin at Orleans Parish Civil Court over on his lawsuit against the @nfl on #SaintsGotRobbed – Says he wants Roger Goodell served today. More @wdsu | @NBCNews @darrenrovell @BR_NFL @AP
D’Amico said his courier was serving the NFL and Goodell with the suit. However, he told Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post earlier on January 22 that they couldn’t find Goodell and he thought Goodell was “ducking” the subpoena.
Goodell hasn’t yet publicly commented on the lawsuit, as of the time of publication.
A judge has scheduled a hearing for Monday at 10 a.m. This is, unfortunately, too late for a replay this coming weekend, which would have likely been the perfect time to replay the last few minutes of the game before the Super Bowl if that was going to happen.
5. Bettors Are Also Considering Filing a Lawsuit Over the Missed Call in the Saints Game
Fully expect a class action lawsuit to be filed against the NFL in the next 24 hours as a result of people claiming losses from bad call in Rams-Saints game. Don’t know how convincing the claims will be, but have no doubt they will be made.
But D’Amico’s lawsuit isn’t the only one being filed on the basis of the missed call. Bettors are also considering filing a lawsuit, AJC reported. This one would be a class action lawsuit, Rovell reported. The lawsuit would be based on people claiming losses from the bad call. In fact, @PointsBetUSA is already refunding all wagers on the Saints spread, Rovell noted in another tweet.
JUST IN: @PointsBetUSA, the latest entrant in the NJ mobile betting market, has announced it will refund all wagers on New Orleans Saints spreads & money lines due to the highly controversial non-call (H/T @TheBigLeebowski)
Meanwhile, a Change.org petition seeking a rematch based on the missed call already has more than 600,000 signatures. The petition reads: “Refs missed a blatant pass interference call against the Los Angeles Rams late in fourth quarter of Jan. 20 NFC Championship game, possibly costing New Orleans Saints a trip to the SuperBowl. Due to refs’ inability to properly officiate at the game, we the undersigned want a re-match against L.A. on Sunday, Jan. 27. It’s the only fair solution to this travesty of epic proportions.”