A-Rod lawyers: Move legal fee fight to state court

NEW YORK (AP) Lawyers for Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez say the lawsuit filed by his former attorneys over legal fees should be tried in state court, not federal court.

They argued Friday that the case be moved. The judge's ruling is pending.

The firm of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani filed suit this summer saying Rodriguez owes about $380,000. The firm says that in May 2013, Rodriguez hired partner David Cornwell, who specializes in representing athletes accused of violating drug and doping policies.

Rodriguez admitted in 2009, before Major League Baseball penalized players for steroid use, that he used performance-enhancing drugs from 2001 to 2003 while with the Texas Rangers. Since then, the third baseman has denied using them.

Rodriguez initially fought a season-long 2014 suspension, but agreed in February to accept it.