ACC files amended complaint against Florida State over Grant of Rights violations
The growing and ongoing legal dispute between Florida State and the Atlantic Coast Conference took another turn this week. The ACC has filed an amended complaint in court as the Seminoles try to maneuver out of the league, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, claiming that Florida State has violated the conference’s Grant of Rights by trying to challenging it in court.
Florida State in late December approved filing a lawsuit to sue the ACC to get out of the Grant of Rights — essentially the school handing over media rights for athletics to the conference. The ACC preemptively counter-sued and is now altering the complaint.
“Florida State has chosen to breach its contractual obligations. It has violated its contractual promise not to challenge the validity or enforceability of the Grant of Rights,” the new filing, added to the docket late on Wednesday, said.
Moreover, the league is seeking “unspecified” damages from the Seminoles. It is also seeking to bar Florida State “from participating in the management of the affairs of the Conference while it has a direct and material conflict of interest with the purposes and objectives of the Conference.”
A judge will ultimately determine what those damages amount to, if anything.
The specific animating reason for the ACC to amend the complaint and push back against Florida State in this way is an apparent attempt from the Florida attorney general to get access to agreements between the ACC and ESPN, which co-runs the ACC Network with the league and holds the broadcasting rights for league athletics.
The amended complaint from the ACC is seeking damages from Florida State for “the breach of its obligation to maintain the confidentiality of the ESPN Agreements in an mount to be determined.” It is also seeking that the court issue an injunction against the Seminoles to prevent further disclosure of the ESPN agreements or confidential information within.
So far, no formal hearings or any proceedings directly before the judge appear on the docket for Mecklenburg County Superior Court, where the case will be heard. The ACC is headquartered in nearby Charlotte, North Carolina.
See the entire 55-page complaint (166 pages with exhibits included) below, in parts. The full complaint with exhibits can be accessed via the Mecklenburg Superior Court case search function.