NEW YORK -- An anti-trust suit brought against the National Hockey League eight years ago by the owners of the Seattle Totems Hockey Club has been dismissed by the court, it was announced Tuesday.
The lawsuit had sought $30 million in damages from the NHL and its member clubs for denying Vincent Abbey and Eldred Barnes an NHL franchise in Seattle, Wash.
The trial was in progress before a jury in the U.S. District Court in Seattle and had lasted 24 days when the judge, after conclusion of the plaintiffs' case, dismissed the suit.
U.S. District Court Judge Donald Vorhees surprised attorneys on both sides Monday by ruling the plaintiffs had failed to prove their case -- after allowing attorneys for the NHL to proceed with two weeks of
In addition to dismissing the plaintiffs' case, the court awarded a $600,000 judgment against the plaintiffs on a counterclaim that had been filed by the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL.
