UPDATE JUNE 28, 2024:
Friday, the First District Court of Appeals in Florida denied the Atlantic Coast Conference's motion to stay the lawsuit brought by Florida State University in Leon County.
In the court document denying that motion, it says:
"The Court denies without prejudice the motions of Sarah Motley Stone, James P. Cooney III, and Patrick Grayson Spaugh, filed on June 5, 2024, seeking leave to appear in this cause pro hac vice on behalf of Petitioner, for failure to comply with Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.510. The motions fail to include all assigned bar numbers and attorney numbers as to the jurisdictions in which the attorneys are active members in good standing and currently eligible to practice law. See Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.510(b)(1). The motions also fail to include the date and disposition of all other motions to appear pro hac vice in the State of Florida within the preceding five years. See Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.510(b)(2)."
ORIGINAL STORY:
- Florida State University responded to the Atlantic Coast Conference's appeal of the motion to dismiss ruling by a Leon County judge.
- The appeal was filed in Florida's First District Court of Appeals.
- Watch now to hear a part of each sides' argument, directly from court documents
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Turning the page to another chapter in the Florida State-Atlantic Coast Conference lawsuit.
I'm Alberto Camargo, your College Town neighborhood reporter.
The ACC is taking this case to an appeal, and FSU has responded.
Let me walk you through where this ongoing and complex legal battle stands.
FSU filed a response Tuesday to an ACC appeal to the Florida's First District Court of Appeal.
A week ago I told you, the ACCs's motion to dismiss FSU's lawsuit against the conference was denied by Leon County Circuit Judge John C. Cooper on several counts.
I checked the court documents. The ACC says Cooper did not apply Florida law correctly.
The conference filed its first lawsuit against FSU in North Carolina one day before FSU sued the ACC in Florida.
The conference claims Cooper did not follow the principle of priority — the idea of first-come, first-serve.
It said in part, "Instead of applying established Florida law on the principle of priority, the trial court disclaimed its application and reverse-engineered its own "rule" to keep this case going in Tallahassee courts."
FSU's legal team says Cooper made the right call because of "extraordinary circumstances".
Cooper ruled that the ACC's initial lawsuit was an "anticipatory filing in the nature of forum shopping" — that means looking for a court that would be favorable to them.
FSU also made the case that — as a public school funded by the government — it cannot be sued without its consent, according to the idea of sovereign immunity.
The response says, "The ACC's baseless argument shows only that the trial court addressed the unique factors or circumstances of this litigation — and nothing in Florida law shows that it was error."
This is yet another layer to legal situation I've been following for months.
It started with the dueling cases. The ACC suing FSU in North Carolina, and FSU suing the ACC in Florida.
Motions to dismiss were denied in both cases. Now, each decision is under review.
In North Carolina, FSU has asked the state's Supreme Court to step in. While the ACC has brought the Florida case to an appeals court.
In College Town, Alberto Camargo, ABC27.
