FSU lawsuit proceeds after Tallahassee judge rejects ACC motion to dismiss

TALLAHASSEE — Leon County Judge John C. Cooper began the latest hearing between Florida State and the Atlantic Coast Conference by describing FSU’s lawsuit as a track meet.

The Seminoles cleared the first hurdle Tuesday; don’t expect any records to fall as this complex dispute slogs along, stalling any potential exit by FSU and the future of conference realignment in the process.

Cooper rejected the ACC’s motion to dismiss FSU’s complaint on jurisdictional grounds. The only mild surprise was the timing. Cooper set aside 60 minutes for arguments on whether the ACC (a non-profit association based in North Carolina) can be sued in Florida. It took more than three hours, excluding a lunch break.

The timeline is even longer if you consider that the arguments were pretty much the same as the last time these two sides met in Room 3G of the Leon County Courthouse, a month and a half ago. Cooper sided with the ACC then but gave FSU the opportunity to tweak its complaint.

He was persuaded by the updates.

“The state of Florida has a unique interest in adjudicating the dispute,” Cooper said.

There are a few reasons why. FSU is a state entity that receives state money and could have sovereign immunity protection from the ACC’s lawsuit against the school in North Carolina. That means this might be the only venue that can issue a final ruling.

Cooper also agreed with FSU counsel Peter Rush’s argument that the ACC can be sued here because the league does “significant” business in the state. The conference makes TV money from more than 400 annual sporting events played in Florida by member schools FSU and Miami. The ACC also participates in Florida bowl games and has a deal in Jacksonville with the sports company Fanatics.

The ACC countered that it’s based in North Carolina, not Florida. Its counsel, Paul Huck, said the conference’s economic deals in the state are minimal. ACC (and, by extension, FSU and other member schools) would make the same amount of money from ESPN if the Seminoles hosted zero home games or 12 home games.

The day’s early arguments were mostly dry but took several scenic detours — questions of the proper name of the Gator Bowl, citations of a case involving Venetian Salami, references to the colored blazers of bowl game officials and details about how high cheerleaders can be tossed in ACC championships.

The most important tangent, however, came soon after the lunch break. That’s when Cooper, again, emphasized the importance of mediation. In April, he referred the case to mediation with a 120-day deadline.

“I know there is a possibility you might not settle,” Cooper said. “But sometimes mediations start a process that can ultimately lead to a settlement.”

Most civil lawsuits and similar cases end in settlements. With so much at stake for both sides — it’s not hyperbolic to say the future of FSU athletics and the ACC are on the line — a settlement is a likely final outcome. Eventually.

Unless this complicated, months-long dispute continues to crawl through the courts (plural).

The ACC also has a case against FSU in North Carolina (which the Seminoles have appealed to that state’s Supreme Court). A third case is pending in Leon County; Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is trying to get a judge to rule that the ACC’s ESPN contracts are public records. No court date has been set.

Clemson and the ACC have also sued each other. Hearings in both Carolinas are scheduled for next month.

FSU and Clemson are making separate but similar arguments as they consider leaving the league. Both want clarity on how much an exit will cost. The ACC has a withdrawal fee of about $140 million, but the bigger component is TV rights. If the ACC owns them until the league’s ESPN deal expires — as late as 2036 — FSU and Clemson risk losing or forfeiting more than $400 million.

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