Leon County judge denies ACC motion to dismiss in Florida State lawsuit

Leon County Judge John C. Cooper denied the Atlantic Coast Conference’s motion to dismiss Florida State’s lawsuit over jurisdictional grounds on Tuesday afternoon.

In his decision to deny the motion, Cooper cited the ACC’s vested sports media business in Florida, specifically with Florida State and Miami. The Judge also emphasized how the conference uses FSU’s media rights to program the ACC Network.

Cooper later denied the ACC’s motion to dismiss Florida State’s second count stating the league’s $140 million exit fee is unenforceable.

“The state of Florida has a unique interest in adjudicating the dispute,” Cooper said, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Tuesday’s decision is just the latest chapter of a legal feud involving the ACC, Florida State and Clemson. While Cooper’s decision is rooted over jurisdiction, the overarching reason behind all this is over the ACC’s grant of rights that keeps the schools in a TV contract with ESPN through 2036.

A grant of rights agreement gives conferences the right to broadcast all member schools’ home games for the duration of the media rights deal. The ACC’s current TV contract with ESPN reportedly contains a unilateral option for the TV network in 2027 that must be exercised by February 2025 to extend the deal to 2036.

Florida State’s Board of Trustees began the legal battle with its conference in December, but the disagreement is nearly 18 months old. At last year’s ACC spring meetings, news broke that seven schools, including Clemson and FSU, had discussed potential exit strategies.

On top of the ACC’s suit against Florida State in North Carolina, a third case is pending in Leon County. That stems from Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s attempt for a court to rule the ACC’s ESPN TV contracts are public records.

Settlement talks have always been on the radar. According to On3’s Andy Staples, a possible buyout number sits somewhere between $150 million and a $572 ceiling.

“I know there is a possibility you might not settle,” Cooper said Tuesday. “But sometimes mediations start a process that can ultimately lead to a settlement.”

Clemson entered the fray in March, filing a suit against the league.

“We’ll just wait and let it play out,” Florida State athletic director Michael Alford said in May at the ACC spring meetings. “We have great partners in this conference and great relationships. But at the end of the day, we’ve got to do what’s best for Florida State and look at the changing environment of collegiate athletics and make sure we’re there to be successful.”