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FSU lawsuit vs. ACC suffers a setback in North Carolina court
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- FSU lawsuit vs. ACC suffers a setback in North Carolina court
Florida State University's request to dismiss the Atlantic Coast Conference's lawsuit was denied Thursday by a judge in North Carolina.
The decision puts the focus now in Leon Circuit Civil court , where the first hearing between the pair in Florida is scheduled for Tuesday, April 9, at 9:30 a.m. in front of Circuit Judge John C. Cooper.
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FSU and the ACC are in a legal dispute over the league's Grant of Rights , an agreement in which schools agree to transfer their media rights to their conference for a set period of time (2036 for ACC schools).
The Seminoles believe they should be allowed to leave the ACC without penalty, saying it would cost $572 million to exit the conference. The ACC's suit seeks to uphold the Grant of Rights.
Thursday's ruling is seen as a significant win for the ACC, which filed its lawsuit in Charlotte, North Carolina, Dec. 21, 2023 in anticipation of FSU's lawsuit the following day.
"We are pleased with today's decision, which confirms North Carolina courts are the proper place to enforce the ACC's agreements and bylaws," the ACC said in a statement Thursday. "We remain committed to acting in the best interests of the league's members and will see this process through to protect and advance the ACC."
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FSU could also still appeal the ruling and downplayed the significance of the ruling in a statement.
"Although it's highly unusual for a court to dismiss a lawsuit at this initial stage, we are disappointed in the Court's decision not to dismiss the North Carolina lawsuit," the FSU statement read. "We will continue to aggressively advocate for the University, for FSU Athletics, and for the sovereignty of the State of Florida as these cases proceed."
Clemson recently filed a similar lawsuit to FSU's against the conference in South Carolina. The ACC has claimed that both schools are breaching their contracts with the league by suing.
Both FSU and Clemson make it clear the ACC lags well behind the SEC and Big Ten in revenue due to the ACC's current television contract.
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In a 76-page filing from Chief Business Court Judge Louis A. Bledsoe Thursday, the North Carolina court also denied FSU's motion to stay .
"The court finds this argument without merit," Bledsoe wrote in his decision "because the ACC was within its rights to sue FSU to protect its Grant of Rights when it felt like "breach was imminent."
The court also concluded "that a North Carolina court holds "a local interest in resolving the controversy" that exceeds the local interest of the Florida courts.
Of FSU's six motions to dismiss, five were denied.
The one favorable ruling for FSU was the judge dismissed the ACC's argument the Seminoles breached fiduciary duties to the conference.
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"We appreciate the ruling today that Florida State could not have breached any supposed fiduciary duties to the ACC by seeking legal relief from the Conference's gross mishandling of member school media rights," FSU said in the statement.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU motion to dismiss ACC lawsuit denied by North Carolina judge
