ST. LOUIS – Pre-trial conference time over the Rams relocation lawsuit scheduled for Friday morning was unused by any of the parties involved.

A spokesperson for the city courts said no one needed to use the scheduled conference time. He said these pre-trial conferences are often put on the calendar just in case someone does want to use the time.

The Missouri Supreme Court refused to block an order Thursday morning from Judge Christopher McGraugh, who is presiding over this case. That order requires Rams owner Stan Kroenke, the NFL, and five other team owners to turn over financial records that could be used for a jury to determine punitive damages if this case goes to trial and Kroenke loses. For Kroenke, those records include other sports franchises, management groups, a winery, and other businesses as well as financial details about Kroenke’s wife Ann Walton Kroenke. She is a multi-billionaire heir to the Walmart fortune.

That legal blow for Kroenke came after Judge McGraugh rejected a motion by lawyers last week for Kroenke and the other defendants to dismiss the case altogether. Last month, McGraugh refused to move the case out of St. Louis.

The Rams moved from St. Louis to Los Angeles back in 2016. St. Louis City, St. Louis County and the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority sued the next year. The suit alleges that the Rams and the NFL broke the league’s relocation rules and misled the public with the move. The suit also claims the Rams departure cost St. Louis City millions of dollars in amusement, ticket and earning taxes.

The civil trial in this case where monetary damages could be assessed is set to begin on January 1, 2022.