“Clearly, plaintiffs allege facts that give rise to a breach of an enforceable contract,” McGraugh wrote.

Rams attorneys sought to pull the case out of court and into arbitration under the terms of the Dome lease and a separate relocation agreement between the Rams and the public entities, but McGraugh said that could be done only when there was a dispute related to the terms of those agreements. The plaintiffs aren’t alleging those agreements were violated, rather that the NFL and its members violated their own policy.

“Even a ‘broad’ arbitration provision only covers disputes ‘arising out of’ the contract to arbitrate,” McGraugh wrote.

McGraugh also ruled that the out-of-state defendants met the criteria for being sued in Missouri, even though the team owners’ vote to move the Rams happened in Houston and they otherwise had little to no contact with Missouri entities. McGraugh said there was standing as long as the alleged out-of-state actions led to consequences in the state where the lawsuit was filed.

“This is a clear case of the Missouri long-arm statute operating to hold Defendants amenable to suit in Missouri for injuries they caused in Missouri,” McGraugh wrote.