Judge denies ACC's motion to dismiss on personal jurisdiction, FSU's lawsuit continues in Leon County

Florida State's legal team returned to court Tuesday for a third hearing in Leon County courtroom 3G as Circut Judge John C. Cooper issued a long-awaited ruling in the Florida State vs. the Atlantic Coast Conference case.

The case will continue in Tallahassee with a key point decided. Judge Cooper denied the ACC's motion to dismiss the case based on personal jurisdiction.

The ruling is a win for FSU as it continues its marathon legal battle against the ACC in Leon County as it grants Florida jurisdiction over the case and enables state courts to act and make decisions in the lawsuit as it proceeds through the legal system.

While this ruling isn't the final one on a motion to dismiss, this is a significant hurdle that has tripped up proceedings to this point, starting during the first hearing on April 9 . Tuesday's hearing ended with Judge Cooper saying the remainder of the hearing would be done via paper or email communication.

Judge Cooper spent nearly an hour dissecting every thought, quirk, reason and case law he used in his decision to rule against the ACC in the motion to dismiss based on personal jurisdiction, attempting to provide clarity and avoid appeal.

Judge Cooper also denied the ACC's count that centered around FSU's complaint over the $140 million dollar fee to exit the conference is unenforceable, also denying the ACC's count that stemmed from FSU's claim that the conference breached its bylaws and constitution.

As the two parties near the end of the first leg of proceedings, both the school and conference now face the climb as dueling lawsuits in North Carolina and Florida could be set to proceed against each other simultaneously depending on Judge Cooper's ruling.

Establishing the ACC as a Florida business key to FSU's personal jurisdiction win

One of the primary arguments FSU's legal team made was to establish the ACC as a business entity in the state of Florida.

While the conference is an association with no physical address or agency in Florida, the argument centered around the ACC's broadcasting and productions of member schools in the state.

Legal representative Peter Rush spent much of the three hearings, including nearly all of his time on Tuesday, arguing that the conference's production of athletics in the state of Florida, specifically broadcasts of FSU and the University of Miami, establishes the conference as a business.

In Tuesday's hearing, Rush said the ACC broadcasted 216 FSU athletics events this year and those productions came in the ACC broadcasting studio located on the school's campus. He argued that the studio, which the ACC had the school built, was an office that established the ACC as a business entity in Florida.

Judge Cooper said the conference's ventures into Florida as a "sports media" business led to his ruling to deny the ACC's motion to dismiss based on personal jurisdiction. He said the conference admitted to being a business in the affidavit submitted, saying it was "conducting and producing sports events originating from FSU and Miami home games." 

Following his claim, Judge Cooper said FSU's second amended complaint and argument made it clear, in his eyes, that the conference was operating as a business in the state, allowing the school the right to sue the conference in Florida.

"I have found that the complaint effectively alleges that the ACC operates a significant business in Florida," Judge Cooper said.

Judge Cooper said that the state of Florida has a "unique interest in adjudicating the dispute." He said the school is a state entity as it receives public funding and could qualify for sovereign immunity, which would result in Florida being the only venue for this case as FSU would be protected from North Carolina law.

While he issued his rulings, Judge Cooper spent nearly a half hour advocating for the two sides to conduct mediation, much like he had in the first two hearings. While he understands the challenges of mediation in this case, and the difficulties that the confidential ESPN agreement brings up, he wants the two sides to come to the table.

"Sometimes mediation starts a process that can ultimately lead to a settlement," Cooper said while acknowledging a settlement isn't guaranteed to happen in this case.

"It has to start sometime."

Day three of hearing comes to an end with no final rulings, what's next?

For the third straight hearing, proceedings have come to an end without a final ruling from Judge Cooper.

While Judge Cooper said he would only allow the initial discussion on personal jurisdiction to go for an hour, allowing 30 minutes of argument per side, the discussion went on for three hours, with Judge Cooper taking nearly an hour to give his ruling to deny the motion.

That ruling came around 3:15 p.m., with the remaining hour and a half of the hearing addressing the ACC's counts to deny the case based on failure to show cause. The two points the ACC argued came from FSU's complaint over the $140 million dollar fee to exit the ACC and claim that the conference breached its bylaws and constitution.

Following the discussion, Judge Cooper said today's hearing would finish without a final ruling, rescheduling and restructuring the remainder of the proceedings to be done via paper. The ACC will file the rest of its motions over email and a final ruling will be communicated with the sides through email.

There was no official date given for when the ruling will be communicated.

What is the current status of the other lawsuits in Florida, North Carolina?

The ACC sued FSU in a North Carolina court  in order to gain jurisdiction in the case by being the first to file, something that has been highly debated in Leon County court.

In the Mecklenburg County business court, Judge Louis A. Bledsoe ruled  the North Carolina case could proceed  and also denied FSU's motion to stay the case. He did rule in favor of FSU on one count, dismissing the ACC's claims that the school breached its fiduciary duties to the conference.

In  May FSU filed a nearly 600-page complaint  in North Carolina asking for the state's supreme court to review the April decision given by Judge Bledsoe. The petition asks for a writ of certiorari, a formal request for a state supreme court to review a case for error or violation.

Florida's Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a lawsuit against the conference in April, demanding the media contracts, Grant of Rights and ESPN agreement be revealed in accordance with Florida public records law.

In June the ACC filed a 54-page complaint in Florida's 1st District Court of Appeals arguing that since it filed its suit against FSU in North Carolina first, that case should take precedence over what is happening in Leon County, and asking for a review of Judge Cooper's rulings.

Liam Rooney covers preps sports for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamroone y

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State score a win in lawsuit against ACC following judge ruling