Shoulda stuck with “California” in the first place

We’ve all made jokes about the Angels’ name, but I didn’t realize that someone was suing over it:

The legal fight over the Angels’ name went into overtime on Tuesday, when a state appellate court said it would delay a scheduled ruling for as long as three weeks . . .

. . . By playing as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, an Orange County Superior Court jury found, the Angels did not violate a stadium lease clause requiring the team name to “include the name Anaheim therein.” The city of Anaheim appealed, and the ruling was scheduled to be issued on Wednesday.

Assuming that the article isn’t cherry-picking the relevant contract clauses, the suit sounds near frivolous. “Include the name ‘Anaheim’ therein” is pretty straightforward. No matter what we may think of the name, Arte Moreno has clearly included the name “Anaheim” therein. It’s not his fault that the city of Anaheim did not have the foresight to realize that someone might break away from the standard city-mascot naming convention. While there is an obligation to perform one’s contractual duties in good faith, there is no obligation to avoid taking advantage of the open and obvious loopholes created by the drafters. If he had wanted to, Moreno could have changed the team name to the “Los Angeles Angels, And By The Way, Anaheim Sucks.”

Well, that may have been closer to bad faith, but you get my point.


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Nate
15 years ago

Actually, a buddy of mine works for the Mayor of ANA and he’s told me that Arte’s maneuver has his employer pissed. That being said, he’s still a polotician and realizes the need to keep the Angels somewhat in good graces, but behind closed doors no kind words are spoken about the “marketing technique” used here.

Daniel
15 years ago

Being a resident of Anaheim, I have been aware of this battle for some years.  Some residents here are tired of the taxpayer money being spent on lawyers to fight Moreno, but on the other hand, I think the city has a point.

I don’t know what impressions are worth for the name of a city, but Moreno knew what he was doing – the name Anaheim is left off of most media publications that talk about the team.  The name is shortened to Los Angeles Angels, and yeah, Mayor Pringle is pissed about it.

I think the name sounds ridiculous, of course, and would rather see Anaheim get the publicity, but I’m not passionate about it.

Aaron
15 years ago

Shouldn’t the legal fight have gone into “extra innings” instead of “overtime”?

Jake (San Diego)
15 years ago

I really laughed at that last part.  Nice job, Craig.

bigcatasroma
15 years ago

Is this info in any way gonna help me on my Bus Orgs exam???

Michael
15 years ago

If Arte really changed the name to that, I’d be the biggest “Los Angeles Angels, And By The Way, Anaheim Sucks” fan ever!!!