FSU vs. ACC lawsuit: Appeal of 'judicial foul' denied in Florida
"Denied."
That was the message from the 1st District Court of Appeal to the Atlantic Coast Conference after it appealed a Tallahassee circuit judge's ruling.
In a 13-page opinion by appellate judges Ross L. Bilbrey, Joseph Lewis Jr. and M. Kemmerly Thomas, released Monday morning, the panel unanimously turned down the ACC's appeal of rulings made against it in its case against Florida State University.
The judges agreed Circuit Judge John Cooper "did not depart from the essential requirements of the law in denying the ACC's motion to stay."
The loss is the latest legal milestone in a marathon multi-state legal battle over media rights contracts and the potential half-a-billion-dollar fee FSU would owe the conference if it pursued an exit from the ACC.
The conference filed an appeal in June of Cooper 's ruling to deny the conference a pause in legal proceedings based on his decision to allow FSU's case against the ACC to proceed in Florida. Cooper said the conference's suing in North Carolina was an "anticipatory filing" and therefore said the ACC was not granted the right of priority.
The ACC filed a suit on Dec. 21, 2023, with the appeals court saying the conference filed in North Carolina only upon learning the FSU Board of Trustees had scheduled a meeting to discuss legal action the following day. The meeting was required by Florida open government law.
In Monday's opinion, the judges said "the evidence shows that the ACC filed its declaratory judgment suit in North Carolina in anticipation of a next-morning filing in Florida by the FSU Board."
ACC: Lower court judge committed 'foul'
The ACC had claimed Cooper committed a "judicial foul" in proceedings and requested a motion to stay the case in Florida. A stay refers to a court order that temporarily halts or suspends a legal proceeding.
The conference argued in its appeal that it was on a "legal collision course with North Carolina," as FSU and the ACC continue to fight dueling lawsuits in both Leon and Mecklenburg counties.
The opinion also states that other factors outside of what's called the "principle of priority" factored into the decision to deny the appeal. That means certain claims take precedence over others.
It further cites the lack of a "required vote" by ACC members as proof of an anticipatory filing and also raises questions about the ability of FSU to be sued in another state.
While proceedings have mostly been stopped in North Carolina, the case in Leon County continues. The ACC recently filed a motion to allow time for discovery – the pre-trial phase in which parties gather and exchange information relevant to the case – and defer consideration of FSU's motion for partial summary judgment.
Summary judgments allow a party to win an issue or case without a trial. That motion will be heard in front of Cooper at 2 p.m. Friday.
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: ACC's appeal of rulings in lawsuit vs. FSU denied by Florida court
