Jets, Giants Defend Using New York Name While Playing in N.J.

The NFL, the New York Jets, the New York Giants and MetLife Stadium asked a federal court to dismiss a fan’s class complaint alleging the teams’ use of the “New York” name and brand while playing in New Jersey constitutes false advertising.

New York football fan Abdiell Suero’s false advertising and deceptive practices claims fail because there is no showing the National Football League, teams, or the stadium engaged in materially misleading conduct, they told the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Monday.

And none of Suero’s alleged injuries—time and expense of transportation to New Jersey, mental and emotional damage from a “lost connection with the teams,” and “dollars from interstate commerce that should have been rightfully spent” in New York—are sufficient to survive dismissal, the defendants said.

His racketeering claim must be dismissed too because the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act requires at least two predicate acts, while the complaint alleges only the act of wire fraud, they said.

Suero’s allegations of increased transportation costs, emotional injuries, and lost revenues to the state of New York also fail to qualify as injuries to his business or property as required to state a claim under RICO, the defendants said.

The Jan. 3 complaint seeks monetary damages and an order requiring the Giants and Jets to return to stadiums in New York in 2025 upon conclusion of their current contracts with MetLife Stadium.

Until that time, the court should order that the two teams be renamed the New Jersey or East Rutherford Giants and Jets, the complaint asserts.

“Plaintiff and millions of class members have suffered damages by being subjected to expensive and time-consuming transportation from the City and State of New York to East Rutherford, New Jersey on game days to watch the Giants or Jets play,” the complaint alleges.

The proposed class has also suffered psychological damages, the complaint asserts.

“As Giants and Jets fans, plaintiff and the class are insulted, ridiculed, harassed, tormented, and bullied by NFL fans around the United States due to the affiliation of the Giants and Jets with the State of New York rather than their true home, New Jersey,” according to the complaint.

Judge Alison J. Nathan is assigned to the case.

Evan Spencer in New York City represents Suero. Haynes & Boone LLP represents the defendants.

The case is Suero v. Nat’l Football League, S.D.N.Y., No. 22-cv-00031, 3/21/22.