Hearing: MLB Seeks Dismissal of SJ Suit Over A's Move

A federal judge in San Jose will hear arguments Friday on Major  League Baseball's bid for dismissal of an antitrust lawsuit in which the  South Bay city claims the MLB is illegally impeding a possible move by the  Oakland A's to San Jose.

San Jose filed the lawsuit against the baseball association and  Commissioner Bud Selig in June.

It claims their allegedly "illegal and collusive actions thwarted  (San Jose's) diligent efforts to procure a major league baseball team for  Silicon Valley."

The proposed move has been stalled, the lawsuit says, by the San  Francisco Giants' assertion of territorial rights in Santa Clara County as  well as a lack of action by a committee appointed by Selig in 2009 to study  Bay Area territorial issues.

Provisions of the MLB Constitution that enabled the stalling to  occur "unduly and unlawfully restrict the ability of MLB clubs to relocate"  in violation of federal antitrust laws, the lawsuit contends.

One of the provisions is a requirement that three-fourths of the  MLB clubs must approve a team's relocation into another team's territory. The  Giants acquired the Santa Clara County territory in 1990, when the team was  considering a move to the South Bay.

MLB, meanwhile, has asked U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte to toss  out the lawsuit without a trial.