CLEVELAND, Ohio— City of Cleveland attorneys on Friday asked a judge to reconsider his decision to allow the Browns to update their lawsuit over the team’s planned move to Brook Park.
Justin Herdman, an outside attorney hired by the city, asked U.S. District Judge David Ruiz to reexamine his [May 23](https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2025/05/judge-allows-browns-to-file-updated-lawsuit-over-planned-move-to-brook-park.html) ruling to let the Browns file an amended lawsuit over whether Ohio’s so-called Modell Law is constitutional.
If the judge refuses, Herdman asked him to certify his decision so the city can appeal it to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
If an appeal is filed, it could take months, possibly interrupting the timeline of a move. The team has said it hopes to open its covered stadium in Brook Park in 2029 and needs to break ground on a new stadium by the end of 2026.
Herdman’s arguments mostly focus on whether the Browns sufficiently argued that the team has jurisdiction to take the case to federal court. He wrote that the Browns’ first two filings of their lawsuit failed to argue exactly why the case should be heard in federal court.
Herdman’s arguments mostly focus on whether the Browns’ case should continue before Ruiz. Herdman wrote that the Browns’ first two filings of their lawsuit failed to argue exactly why the case should be heard in federal court.
The [updated lawsuit](https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2025/03/browns-double-down-on-brook-park-as-best-place-for-team-ask-judge-if-they-can-update-lawsuit.html) switches its arguments about jurisdiction from suing under the Declaratory Judgement Act, which would not give automatic jurisdiction to the Browns, to arguing that the team’s rights were violated by an unconstitutional law, which would, Herdman said.
He argued to Ruiz that the move shouldn’t be allowed and that the case should be tossed out.
The lawsuit, filed by the Browns against the city, argues the Modell Law is unconstitutionally vague. The law puts certain restrictions on professional sports teams who want to leave a city or area where it received taxpayer money, including offering the team up for sale to a city resident or residents.
The Browns are seeking to leave its downtown stadium for a new, $2.4 billion covered stadium to be built in Brook Park for the 2029 season.
The city has sued the Browns in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, seeking a judge’s order to enforce the Modell Law. That case is pending.