Florida State University met the Atlantic Coast Conference in court Friday for the first hearing in a set of dueling lawsuits.
Judge Louis A. Bledsoe III of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, heard arguments from attorneys representing Florida State University, the Atlantic Coast Conference, and ESPN.
FSU is suing to get out of its contract with the conference
Florida State argued ESPN and the ACC gave the school a bad media deal and shortchanged the school on tv revenue. An an attorney for the school, said the lawsuit the conference filed after FSU raised that concern, was out of line.
They’re asking for it to be dismissed.
King on Standing: The ACC did not get approval to file it's suit in December. The court can look outside the pleadings and we look to The ACC affidavits in the amended complaint concerning a vote being taken in January. If standing exists based on the vote, standing did not exist…
— RohanLaw (@RohanLawPC) March 22, 2024
“The ACC raced to the courthouse to file a pre-emptive, pre-mature lawsuit against the FSU board," said FSU attorney Bailey King. "We believe the ACC jumped offside — and that's a penalty.”
The ACC is suing FSU for breach of contract
But James Cooney, the attorney representing the ACC, argues Florida State willingly signed over its media rights twice: in 2013, and then again in 2016 and should have to honor its contract.
“What Florida State doesn’t recognize, is that their lawsuit by itself is a breach under that non-dispute provision under the grant of rights," said Cooney. "The ACC doesn’t have to wait until they actually breach in order to bring a claim.”
FSU is also asking the court to force the ACC to hand over documents that detail the broadcasting contract with ESPN.
“Ultimately, this is about integrity of agreements, integrity of promises, integrity of how parties deal with each other over a number of years," Cooney said, according to ESPN's David Hale, also in attendance.
Both sides are asking that the other’s lawsuit be tossed out
Judge Bledsoe said on Friday that he’ll issue a written ruling on where the case should be held and whether to unseal documents.
He intends to rule before FSU’s lawsuit against the ACC is heard in Leon County on April 9. The ACC is asking that FSU’s lawsuit be dismissed.