New York ? Don’t count on going to a new Washington team’s home opener against the Mets in April: A lawyer for the Montreal Expos’ former minority owners promises a court fight if baseball tries to move the team.

The commissioner’s office, still unsure whether it will attempt to move the franchise, submitted legal papers Friday to the lawsuit filed in July by the Expos’ former limited partners.

After Thursday’s meeting of baseball owners in Chicago, Expos president Tony Tavares said a move for the 2003 season was a possibility and said he’d like to know within 10 days whether major league baseball intends to keep the team in Montreal next season.

“If they try to move or sell the team, we already have said we will try to stop that,” Jeffrey Kessler, who represents the former limited partners, said Friday. “All we can do is wait, like the rest of the world.”

The Expos were purchased by the other 29 teams earlier this year from Jeffrey Loria, who bought the Florida Marlins.