ACC dismissed as defendant in Big East lawsuit, Miami remains

Posted 5:48PM on Friday 10th October 2003 ( 21 years ago )

HARTFORD, CONN - A Connecticut judge Friday removed the Atlantic Coast Conference as a defendant in a state lawsuit filed by Big East schools over the expansion of the ACC. But Rockville Superior Court Judge Samuel Sferrazza denied the University of Miami's request to also be dismissed from the suit. Sferrazza ruled that the ACC did not have enough business dealings in Connecticut to warrant being sued in the state. He found that Miami, as a member of the Big East, shares in revenues from games and other events that take place at the University of Connecticut and is eligible to be sued under the state's ``long-arm'' statute. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said the lawsuit, with Miami as the lone defendant, will continue. He said the Big East schools will pursue their case against the ACC in another court or through appeals. ``We have great confidence that, when all the facts are known, we will prevail and the court will act to help repair the great damage done to the Big East,'' he said. The lawsuit filed by the University of Connecticut, Rutgers, Pittsburgh and West Virginia accuses Miami and the ACC of participating in a conspiracy to weaken the Big East. Miami and Big East member Virginia Tech will join the ACC in 2004. The Big East schools contend they have spent millions on their football programs based on presumed loyalty from schools they had been aligned with. They are seeking unspecified monetary damages. Last month, Sferrazza heard arguments from the ACC and Miami contending the Connecticut court did have jurisdiction to hear the lawsuit. Hugh Keefe, an attorney who represented the ACC, welcomed Friday's decision. ``This particular lawsuit brought against the ACC never had any merit,'' Keefe said. ``I am delighted that the ACC is out of the case.'' ACC Commissioner John Swofford said the league was pleased by the decision. Phone messages seeking comment were left with attorneys representing Miami and with a school spokesman. The plaintiffs had used the ACC's relationship with Bristol-based ESPN as part of their argument to sue the North Carolina-based conference. But the judge ruled that connection was ``so tenuous and so peripheral to the activity of the ACC that the court holds that the plaintiffs have failed to prove that the ACC is or has been `doing business' in Connecticut.'' Blumenthal said the four plaintiffs remain strongly unified in their pursuit for damages. Options include an appeal in a Connecticut court, filing suit against individual ACC schools or suing the conference in either federal court or its home state, Blumenthal said. ``The ACC can run but it cannot hide,'' Blumenthal said.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2003/10/170913