Leon County judge denies ACC motion to stay Florida-based FSU lawsuit

UPDATE (8:00 p.m.) — FSU issued this statement following Judge John C. Cooper’s ruling today in the university’s lawsuit against the ACC:

“FSU is pleased with Judge Cooper’s ruling today denying the ACC’s motion to postpone our lawsuit over the mishandling of media rights. We agree with his conclusions that the ACC’s North Carolina action was an anticipatory filing disfavored by courts, and that the sovereignty of the State of Florida supports the resolution of these matters in Florida.

“We will continue to press our case both in Leon County and North Carolina to show the ACC seeks to impose an unconscionable financial penalty to prevent its members from exercising their right to leave.”

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UPDATE (7:15 p.m.) The ACC issued the following statement Tuesday after a Leon County judge ruled in FSU’s favor in a pre-trial hearing:

“While we respect the court’s decision, we strongly disagree with its determination surrounding our requested stay in Florida, especially following the North Carolina court’s decision. We are examining our options as it relates to next steps.”

EARLIER REPORT

Judge John C. Cooper has denied the ACC’s motion to stay a lawsuit filed by FSU in Leon County, Florida.

Following an afternoon recess, Judge Cooper cited several cases across state and federal courts that cautioned against “forum shopping” and “anticipatory” filings from one party against another.

Using precedent from those cases, Cooper claimed the ACC engaged in “classic anticipatory litigation” in an effort to forum shop.

The ACC filed a December lawsuit in Mecklenberg County, North Carolina prior to FSU’s official Board of Trustees public vote, filing and service of its Florida-based lawsuit.

Judge Cooper did not rule on the ACC’s motion to dismiss FSU’s lawsuit.

“I’m not saying Florida State’s right on its allegations,” Cooper said. “I’m not finding that they win. I want to make sure everybody understands this is no indication that I think Florida State’s got the better argument on the merits or not.

“I’m just saying that I think the motion for stay should be denied. I think in light of the fact that the way this suit was filed, that it was classic anticipatory litigation, which reasonably lends itself to a conclusion of forum shopping — there’s only one reason one would engage in forum shopping. That’s because you think the forum you just shopped is better than the other place. That’s why forum shopping is condemned in all these cases I cited to you, including cases from Florida.”

Lawyers from the ACC and Florida State will meet again in Leon County on Monday, April 22 at 9:30 a.m.

Stay tuned to Warchant.com for more on this story

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ORIGINAL STORY

A legal battle between FSU and the Atlantic Coast Conference is raging in two different states. After last week’s denial to dismiss the ACC’s lawsuit based in North Carolina, lawyers representing Florida State University and the ACC meet in Leon County court Tuesday morning.

The motion hearing is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Leon County Courthouse. Judge John C. Cooper will conduct the hearing.

Warchant subscribers can follow along in the Tribal Council in a live update thread. Though the length of Tuesday’s hearing is not entirely clear — it could last a few minutes or well over an hour — updates from Leon County’s courthouse can be found in the Tribal Council.

VIDEO STREAM: LEON COUNTY HEARING

LIVE UPDATES: LEON COUNTY HEARING

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