Angels facing legal trouble over another one of Arte Moreno’s short-sighted decisions

Those in positions of power can make some truly odd decisions when it comes to marketing/branding. When Arte Moreno decided to get rid of "Anaheim" from the now Los Angeles Angels' name and branding, the "goal" was to better tap into the LA media market. Apparently, the only thing keeping LA residents from supporting the team was the absence of Los Angeles in the team name, at least in Moreno's mind. However, that decision could still prove to be costly, even now.

Obviously, changing the name created a rift with the city of Anaheim and led to legal action against the team. The Angels ultimately won out, but it was specifically mentioned by the judge at the time that if the team changed their official naming away from the "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim", the result would not be in their favor. Well, the Angels DID drop the "of Anaheim" years later, and now the courts could get involved yet again.

According to a report from the Los Angeles Times, the city of Anaheim is once again fighting to have its name officially associated with the Angels. Not only is there state legislation that could force the Angels to make the change, but there is a renewed push for legal action against the team, given previous court rulings and the language in the Angels' agreements with the city.

Angels' name-change fiasco could cost team dearly in court

At issue is a relatively bizarre and convoluted course of events, but here is the quick and dirty version. The Angels changed their name to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the city of Anaheim sued and lost, but the judge ruled that the city lost only because "of Anaheim" was still included in the name. The Angels have since dropped "of Anaheim," and now the city, as well as state legislators, see an opening to leverage a change.

This whole situation is just sad and needlessly complicated. The Angels DID begin their existence as the Los Angeles Angels after all, before they moved to Anaheim. This whole thing could have been avoided had Moreno been more tactful and tried to create a strong working relationship with the city. Instead, he decided to play hardball almost immediately, and now his rash decisions could hurt the team yet again.

Right now, everything is in the early stages. Legislation to make it so that any new lease or sale of the team would require the team name to change back to the Anaheim Angels has been introduced, but actual adoption could be a slow process if it passes at all. However, the Angels' lease doesn't expire until 2032 at the earliest, so this feels like a long-term play anyway, unless Moreno decides to sell the team before then.

As for the city's attempts to attack the Angels' lease directly, that could end up having more short-term implications. If their legal team decides that they have a strong case that the Angels violated the terms of their lease with how they handled the name change, they may be able to get a judge to grant an injunction and force an immediate change.

While it would be nice to be able to focus on Opening Day and the return of baseball in 2026, things are often not that easy when it comes to the Angels, and this is no exception.