Jets fan trying to revive Spygate lawsuit vs. Pats

PHILADELPHIA - The Patriots could find themselves defending a lawsuit by fans miffed about their secret videotaping of signals from Jets coaches.

The NFL bans such videotaping and issued $750,000 in fines against the Patriots and coach Bill Belichick after they were caught taping signals at the Jets' 2007 home opener.

Attorney Carl Mayer, a Jets season-ticket holder, argued in a U.S. appeals court yesterday that fans paid to see games that essentially were rigged. His suit, dismissed earlier by a lower court, seeks $185 million in damages for Jets fans alone.

Mayer, who asked the appeals court to revive the suit, said he hopes to learn the extent of the taping, dubbed Spygate. "The game will become more and more corrupt if there is no remedy," he said. "The NFL will degenerate into the WWE [World Wrestling Entertainment]."

NFL lawyers insist the Patriots violated only league rules, not civil or criminal laws. They fear that disappointed fans will sue over myriad game day complaints if the case is upheld.

U.S. District Judge Garrett Brown Jr. tossed Mayer's suit last year, concluding that tickets entitle fans to see nothing more than the game that unfolds.

The ruling by the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals judges could hinge on whether they see the purchase of a Jets ticket as a contract between fans and the league and whether consumer protection laws apply.

The NFL argued that a ticket carries only the right to sit in a certain seat.