OT: Florida State to sue ACC over GOR

[nelsonmuntz]

Florida is the most plaintiff friendly state in America (Texas is a close second), so filing in a Florida court and trying to beat the GOR under state law gives FSU a decent chance to win. The precedent if FSU won would be devastating to businesses in Florida, so the court would have to split a hair that any ruling voiding a media sale contract was limited to FSU. But Florida courts have no problem with the precedent of “we are making this up as we go along”, so I think FSU is going to win.

 

[HooperScooper]

FSU has an undefeated football team, and it’s outside looking in on the football playoffs. There are those in the FSU administration that believe if they were in the SEC and Alabama was in the ACC, they would be in the playoffs and Alabama would be out. I think they probably have a point.

But would FSU be undefeated if they played in the SEC? Hmmmm....

 

[Uconn77Duke74]

I will highly enjoy it when the ACC implodes and we turn down BC's request to come back to the Big East.

 

[Tyler2Rings]

I will highly enjoy it when the ACC implodes and we turn down BC's request to come back to the Big East.

No joke... In the last ~15 years they average out to a 125-175 ranked program. The America East is a better fit for that range than the Big East

 

[REB1094]

I don't understanding all the conferencing drama that's been going on, but if FSU wins this suit, doesn't that mean the ACC is pretty much guaranteed to implode?

If a court rules that their exit fee is unenforceable, why wouldn't all the football-first schools immediately try to bolt?

 

[Waquoit]

Take it easy on Kobe,

Nah, that choad has jumped the shark.

 

[Waquoit]

FSU is very upset at UConn's lawsuit. UConn set a disgusting precedent. How unworthy of UConn. UConn should be forever blackballed. Just think of it, a school suing their colleagues in another conference. No one does that. If you want to sue your colleagues, make sure you are in the same conference.

FSU needs to blackball themselves.

 

[Ha Who]

FSU has an undefeated football team, and it’s outside looking in on the football playoffs. There are those in the FSU administration that believe if they were in the SEC and Alabama was in the ACC, they would be in the playoffs and Alabama would be out. I think they probably have a point.

Guessing that was a final straw type of thing that probably helped initiate the suit. If nothing else it probably increases leverage for getting a bigger piece of the ACC pie if they have to remain.

And when finish 6th in their new league they are still out. Money is the purpose of the cartel

 

[PNolanFan]

I don't understanding all the conferencing drama that's been going on, but if FSU wins this suit, doesn't that mean the ACC is pretty much guaranteed to implode?

If a court rules that their exit fee is unenforceable, why wouldn't all the football-first schools immediately try to bolt?

Will be interesting to see how many openings there are in the big12/big10 and SEC. Next year the big 12 is at 16, big 10 is at 18, and the SEC is at 16...... For Clemson, Notre Dame and Florida state I think any of the conferences makes room for them after that though I am curious to see.

Would the big 10 go to 20 teams? That would be a big question because that determines if there are 10 open spots or 4. If there are 4 what remains of the ACC would be a great option for us in my opinion would probably be current ACC minus clemson, florida state, miami and UNC. However if 10 schools defect then what remains would suck and I want to just stay in the Big east

 

[Greedo]

Will be interesting to see how many openings there are in the big12/big10 and SEC. Next year the big 12 is at 16, big 10 is at 18, and the SEC is at 16...... For Clemson, Notre Dame and Florida state I think any of the conferences makes room for them after that though I am curious to see.

Would the big 10 go to 20 teams? That would be a big question because that determines if there are 10 open spots or 4. If there are 4 what remains of the ACC would be a great option for us in my opinion would probably be current ACC minus clemson, florida state, miami and UNC. However if 10 schools defect then what remains would suck and I want to just stay in the Big east

I get the sense that the B1G would want UNC and UVA over FSU and Clemson. I could be off though.

 

[storrsroars]

What kind of monsters put chili on pasta? That's just wrong.

Thing is, that stuff is much closer to the sauce used in pastitsio than chili, so it makes some sense if it's just 2-way. But once you add beans and yellow cheese, you've entered abomination territory.

 

[BlueMAB]

Or, alternatively, that penalty clauses that greatly exceed actual damages are not legally enforceable, particularly when some of the signing parties had little to no negotiating power.

Appreciate this post.

Was FSU one of the schools that had little to no negotiating power? Does it matter, and/or will it impact the decision?

 

[CL82]

Appreciate this post.

Was FSU one of the schools that had little to no negotiating power? Does it matter, and/or will it impact the decision?

My understanding is that the negotiation was done at the conference level and not at the individual school level, so each individual school had little to no negotiation power.

 

[Chuck]

Florida is the most plaintiff friendly state in America (Texas is a close second), so filing in a Florida court and trying to beat the GOR under state law gives FSU a decent chance to win. The precedent if FSU won would be devastating to businesses in Florida, so the court would have to split a hair that any ruling voiding a media sale contract was limited to FSU. But Florida courts have no problem with the precedent of “we are making this up as we go along”, so I think FSU is going to win.

Southern states (which Florida is in most respects) and their schools don't care about laws when it comes to their football programs.

I'm kind-of an attorney (by degree), but I'm not a litigator, so I'm not holding this out as anything more than a typical message board idiot. If they can keep this in Florida courts, those judges will find a way to make it easy on FSU. They will find the GOR unenforceable against a state school, and the exit fee will be reduced to a "fair" amount (fairness as determined by a Florida court, of course). It wouldn't, however, set any precedent for any other school of interest (Miami being private).

If the ACC can get this to Federal court, and if a different state or federal law is used, it's a different ballgame. FSU won't have as favorable of a forum, but if they win, it could help the schools in NC, VA....

I guess this has been the end game all along. It just might be coming earlier. Will the ACC leftovers even be worth joining for UConn? We'll see soon enough I guess.

 

[businesslawyer]

FSU is very upset at UConn's lawsuit. UConn set a disgusting precedent. How unworthy of UConn. UConn should be forever blackballed. Just think of it, a school suing their colleagues in another conference. No one does that. If you want to sue your colleagues, make sure you are in the same conference.

I’m no FSU fan, but I’ve never heard that they pushed to take Louisville over us because we were mean and sued people previously. They wanted a school that was a safer bet from a football perspective. Nothing wrong with that, other than it wasn’t in our interest,

 

[businesslawyer]

FSU has an undefeated football team, and it’s outside looking in on the football playoffs. There are those in the FSU administration that believe if they were in the SEC and Alabama was in the ACC, they would be in the playoffs and Alabama would be out. I think they probably have a point.

Guessing that was a final straw type of thing that probably helped initiate the suit. If nothing else it probably increases leverage for getting a bigger piece of the ACC pie if they have to remain.

They do have a point. Until you ask yourself whether FSU would have been undefeated if it played a SEC schedule.

 

[Travelman6]

I will highly enjoy it when the ACC implodes and we turn down BC's request to come back to the Big East.

Well uconn is just one of 11. The sad thing is the other 10 will accept stupid bc with open arms in that scenario. If I'm the uconn ad I'm on the phone with the 10 other schools to remind them ...well, Buck FC.

 

[Plebe]

FSU has an undefeated football team, and it’s outside looking in on the football playoffs. There are those in the FSU administration that believe if they were in the SEC and Alabama was in the ACC, they would be in the playoffs and Alabama would be out. I think they probably have a point.

If FSU were in the SEC, FSU would have 2+ losses even if Alabama weren't in the league.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Or, alternatively, that penalty clauses that greatly exceed actual damages are not legally enforceable, particularly when some of the signing parties had little to no negotiating power.

I believe the ultimate question will be how many schools will leave the ACC and what the cost will be to the remaining schools.

If hypothetically, FSU would be the only departure and the replacement school would end up leading to a slightly smaller ESPN deal, the difference between the two numbers (which I imagine would be palatable to FSU) would be what the damages would be based on. If this opens the floodgates and leads to the top third (or more) of the conference departing, the damages could be 60%-70% of the current deal, split among the departing schools.

One critical point is that the ACC doesn't need to be cooperative on releasing anyone from the GOR.

 

[SubbaBub]

Don't do it. Muggles will be trashing your AG for years to come because you've burned bridges with faceless universities that are only ever after more money. You should appease them and hope by playing nice you will be invited to join them one day.

 

[willie99]

If they win this lawsuit it will be further proof that signed contracts aren't worth the piece of paper they're written on and high-priced lawyers can always find a loophole.

It's worse than that. It teaches the world, and their students, that your word doesn't mean much anymore

 

[uconnyankee]

I get the sense that the B1G would want UNC and UVA over FSU and Clemson. I could be off though.

I think Big wants Florida

 

[AZHuskiePop]

If they win this lawsuit it will be further proof that signed contracts aren't worth the piece of paper they're written on and high-priced lawyers can always find a loophole.

Really, I’m no lawyer but a contract has to be freely agreed up not imposed under duress .With both parties subject to outlined or implied conditions required of each .
It also requires a basis in reality. and can’t be in violation of any laws like those impeding interstate commerce.
The GOR , and a $35,000,000 exit fee for a conference with minimal media deal seem to be in a grey area regarding all three conditions.
A judge will decide whetter the ACC. Violated the agreement or whether a real contract actually existed. Interesting case .

 

[uh-no]

Really, I’m no lawyer but a contract has to be freely agreed up not imposed under duress .With both parties subject to outlined or implied conditions required of each .
It also requires a basis in reality. and can’t be in violation of any laws like those impeding interstate commerce.
The GOR , and a $35,000,000 exit fee for a conference with minimal media deal seem to be in a grey area regarding all three conditions.
A judge will decide whetter the ACC. Violated the agreement or whether a real contract actually existed. Interesting case .

It will be very interesting, especially FSU's claim that the ACC misrepresented the contract with ESPN (that ESPN required the GoR for a guaranteed extension to 2036, when it was just an option for ESPN to extend)....which if true, would mean the ACC materially misrepresented the negotiation with ESPN in order to get a signature on the GoR

Discovery will be spicy.

 

[uconnfan68]

I think Big wants Florida

I could see all 4, UNC, UVA, FSU, and Clemson.