The city of Anaheim lost their court case against the Los Angelos Angels of Anaheim when a jury concluded that the Angels can use whatever name they want as long as the word Anaheim was in it.
In a 9-3 verdict, the jurors found that the new name was consistent with a 10-year-old stadium lease agreement, which only specified that the team name should include the word Anaheim in it. Jurors, who decided the issue in just over four hours, also found the team did not violate a state law requiring good faith and fair dealing when it renamed itself.
I am not a very big fan of the name Los Angelos Angels of Anaheim. I have never been that far west and do not follow the team at all, so my opinion really is not all that important. I think that LA of Anaheim sounds silly, but I do not manage the team and do not really worry about its market share. The cities are about 25 to 30 miles apart.
That being said, I agree with the verdict. A verbal agreement will rarely hold up in court, especially when there is specific language in the contract that deals with the naming of the team. I think that Arte Moreno was within his rights to rename the team, which does have a history of being called the Los Angelos Angels. Of course, they were the California Angels after the left Los Angelos.
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