ESPN REPORT: The Florida State are now banned for the 2024 season due to…
After another ruling on Friday, Florida State’s lawsuit against the ACC will continue to be heard in Tallahassee.
The Atlantic Coast Conference’s final attempts to have five charges in FSU’s complaint against the conference dismissed were turned down by Judge John C. Cooper. He did so via email, which the Tallahassee Democrat first revealed, but he did not provide a justification. The ruling gives FSU the opportunity to continue fighting its grievances on sovereign immunity, antitrust issues, and the unenforceability of the league’s right grant while it considers leaving its conference home of 1991.
Within twenty days of the court’s final ruling, the ACC is have to respond to FSU’s nine-count complaint once more. Cooper also made it possible for discovery, or the exchange of data and papers, to continue.
Cooper’s email comes after a similar decision made by the bench earlier this week over a full day of hearings at the Leon County Courthouse. He dismissed the jurisdictional objections raised by the ACC over the suitability of a North Carolina-based non-profit in Florida. Rather, Cooper concluded that the ACC can hold court in Florida since the league conducts enough business there (televised football games at FSU and Miami, for example, as members of the league). Additionally, the judge rejected the conference’s request to have two particular portions of FSU’s complaint dismissed. These were the claims that the ACC violated its bylaws and constitution by doing things like voting improperly and awarding lopsided College Football Playoffs, as well as that the $140 million exit fee was unenforceable.
The rulings this week indicate that the intricate and important dispute will continue to
The Seminoles and Tigers’ exit penalties from the ACC will depend on the decision(s) made by the judges in the upcoming weeks, months, and (gulp) years. One component is the nine-figure exit fee. More importantly, if a team leaves before the present ESPN contract expires (which may happen as late as 2036), who will hold future TV rights—the school or the ACC? According to FSU, the rights are worth more than $400 million.
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