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FSU files another legal response against the ACC, states intention to leave the conference
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- FSU files another legal response against the ACC, states intention to leave the conference
Florida State University made it perfectly clear Wednesday it intends to leave the Atlantic Coast Conference .
FSU attorneys filed their latest response in Leon County Circuit Court accusing the conference of several "misrepresentations" to the court.
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It accuses the conference of a "hide the ball" game involving its confidential contracts with ESPN , indicating it wants discovery – in which both parties know before trial begins what evidence may be presented – to proceed quickly.
And, for the first time in a legal document, the Seminoles included language that made their intentions clear.
FSU gets a partner vs. the ACC: Clemson joins FSU in filing lawsuit against Atlantic Coast Conference
In several different paragraphs in the 10-page filing, obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat, attorneys said "after FSU exits the ACC."
FSU, in the document, did not indicate where it might land conference-wise following its exit from the league.
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With its legacy football program, FSU has been mainly linked to the SEC and Big Ten , though both conferences have appeared to indicate they are not discussing further expansion.
While it always seemed unlikely that a compromise might emerge that keeps the school in the ACC, that doesn't appear to be the case any longer even if there's a negotiated settlement.
And while FSU and ACC officials wait for a North Carolina judge to rule on whether their case should proceed there, the school's latest document stressed its belief that the legal battle should take place in Florida and not North Carolina.
The ACC in its motion has also asked that documents related to the conference's contract details with ESPN to be sealed.
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No rulings in the case last Friday in North Carolina were issued by Judge Louis A. Bledsoe III. But he did say he anticipates announcing his ruling before the case management hearing set to be held in Leon County April 9.
In FSU's latest document filed Wednesday, the school said:
"Five words explain why the Motion should be denied: to get to the truth. The sound and fury in three different state courts (Florida, and the Carolinas, South and North) are largely over lengthy contracts no one (including the Courts) has other than the ACC. The ACC asks these Courts to construe the "terms and conditions" of those ESPN Agreements yet expects those Courts to take the ACC's word for those terms. That never ends well."
The school also contends the ACC has participated in "mischief," stemming, in part, from the fact that the ACC and ESPN say their television contracts are confidential.
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FSU called them "never-before-seen contract terms." Attorneys for the school also made clear Wednesday that they want discovery accelerated because the "record thus far demonstrates the extreme hazard of taking the ACC's word for it."
Clemson recently joined FSU and sued the ACC, stating in its legal filing in South Carolina that the ACC's $140 million penalty to leave the league is "exorbitant."
And in regards to the schools granting media rights to the ACC, lawyers for the university say it "hinders Clemson's ability to meaningfully explore its options regarding conference membership, to negotiate alternative revenue-sharing proposals among ACC members, and to obtain full value for its future media rights."
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FSU filed the lawsuit Dec. 22 in Leon County circuit court challenging what it describes as more than $500 million in penalties if it wants to exit the conference. But the day before the Leon County case was filed, the conference filed a lawsuit in North Carolina against FSU about many of the same issues, which focus on media rights.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU says it wants to leave ACC in latest lawsuit update
