In 1949, Danny Gardella, who had left the New York Giants for the Mexican League in 1946, filed suit against Major League Baseball, claiming Chandler's ban on players who went to the Mexican League had denied him a means of pursuing his livelihood. Gardella demanded $100,000 in damages from the suspension, and claimed that the award should be tripled because baseball was subject to federal antitrust laws. Similar suits were filed by Max Lanier and Fred Martin, both of whom also played in Mexico. On June 2, 1949, a federal court refused to reinstate the three players pending their trials but urged for the antitrust issues to be adjudicated as soon as possible. Attempting to alleviate the legal pressure on Major League Baseball, Chandler lifted the bans on players who had gone to Mexico almost two years early. Lanier and Martin dropped their suits, but Gardella pursued his. After Gardella's lawyer publicly questioned Chandler in court about baseball's antitrust exemption for a day and a half in September 1949, baseball executives, including Chandler, agreed to settle Gardella's case for $60,000.