Saints lawsuit over noncall has day in court

A federal judge in New Orleans heard from lawyers on both sides of a lawsuit filed by Saints ticket-holders aggrieved over the infamous “no call” that cost the team a likely berth in the Super Bowl to be played in Atlanta on Sunday — but no resolution was reached Monday afternoon.

U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan ordered a meeting in chambers with the NFL and plaintiff lawyers for 5 p.m. today.

Gladstone Jones, a lawyer for the NFL, said at the hearing “the NFL gets it,” but that the league rules in question were not meant for this situation.

“When its fans are upset, the NFL is upset ... It’s a call the National Football League would have liked to see made,” Jones said, in what appeared to be the first public acknowledgment by the league that its referees blew the pivotal penalty call.

The hearing came in response to a lawsuit filed last week by two Saints ticket-holders, Tommy Badeaux and Candis Lambert, on behalf of themselves and the fan base known as “Who Dat Nation.”

Among the damages the plaintiffs sought was a court order to force the league to invoke Rule 17, which requires NFL Commissioner Goodell to investigate an on-field “calamity” that unfairly turned a game — and order the teams to replay part or all of it if he sees fit.

Jones acknowledged that the NFL has never invoked Rule 17. Regardless, he said, it doesn’t apply to judgment calls by referees on the field.

New Orleans attorney Frank D’Amico Jr., who filed the lawsuit, said in court Monday that his clients “are not asking for money damages.” He added that they are seeking a court order forcing the NFL to follow its own rules and bylaws — namely, for Goodell to investigate the “no call” in a process that allows for public hearings.