Judge rejects effort to return MLB All-Star Game to Georgia

The lawsuit had sought $100 million in compensatory damages and $1 billion in punitive damages. The lawyer said he represented the Washington-based Job Creators Network, described in the lawsuit as a nonpartisan organization supporting over 30 million businesses nationwide, including over 10,000 Georgia businesses.

He said his client supports the new Georgia election law.

At one point, Caproni said: “This case is not about whether the Georgia law is a good law or a bad law.”

After Caproni made it clear through her questioning of Kleinhendler that she would rule against the lawsuit, attorneys for Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association kept their arguments brief. Outside court, they declined comment.

In ruling, Caproni said she had doubts whether Atlanta businesses could have suffered anything close to $100 million in damages. She said the plaintiff further undermined its case when it suggested that Major League Baseball could remedy the harm by setting up a $100 million relief fund for harmed businesses.

Such a fund, she noted, would make it hard to argue any harm would be irreparable.

Outside court, Kleinhendler said Caproni’s ruling was disappointing and lawyers needed to evaluate legal options.

Kleinhendler noted that one legal document described how business owners in Atlanta were reluctant to go public with the damage done to them by Major League Baseball’s decision because they feared intimidation tactics such as protests or bad online reviews would be used against them.