We asked attorneys who studied the law in the FSU-ACC dispute for their thoughts.
ACC and the State of Florida filed legal claims against each other.
Years before Florida State and the ACC filed lawsuits against the Seminoles over conference futures, Mark T. Wilhelm studied the results of secret documents at the center of the $500 million dispute.
This is called a franchise and is reviewed in the Harvard Law School Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law.
Wilhelm, a mergers and acquisitions partner at Philadelphia law firm Troutman Pepper, recently spoke with the Tampa Bay Times to share his thoughts and personal thoughts on the case (which is still in its infancy). Here are some excerpts:
Mark T. Wilhelm is a partner at Troutman Pepper, a law firm in Philadelphia.
If you’re wondering how to avoid the FSU signed contract, you’re not alone.
“That’s a good question. Wilhelm said. “There is no perfect answer.
Wilhelm described a number of ways to escape from contracts, such as giving up rights. FSU and other schools gave the TV rights to the ACC, which then sold them to ESPN and distributed the money to the schools.
One, the sale is unfair. FSU said it will lose $572 million as part of the “tough” process to leave the ACC. But Florida State has previously accepted those numbers, which could complicate his argument.
Other thing ACC violated the terms of the contract. FSU is raising the issue again, saying the conference is no longer meeting its financial and competitive obligations. But if that promise was made elsewhere, such as in the meeting’s statement of purpose, would it also apply to financial agreements?
Third option: The nature of the contract is not a contract.
Remember these words: Thoughts
What did the ACC give FSU to sign the automatic grant?
A valid contract must have three phases: offer, acceptance and consideration. If you offer to sell your neighbor’s old bicycle for $10. He agrees and you give him a tip ($10). This fulfills three requirements.
But Wilhelm said a new idea was needed. It’s no use borrowing $10 from your neighbor last week and giving him $10 for his bike. Your neighbor doesn’t get new ideas.
FSU claims in its complaint that it “received no new compensation” for signing the automatic grant. If the court accepts the argument, the contract is not created. And without the deal, Florida could save hundreds of millions of dollars on the way out.
How the $572 million (and proof) is split is important. One of the two main components, according to
FSU, is the $130 million cost to exit the ACC. Another is the $429 million in television funding that the conference plans to maintain through 2036. That will lead to a lawsuit,” Wilhelm said.
What? If the court were to consider a two-part acquisition fee, FSU would likely argue that the $500 million figure is unreasonable compared to the harm ACC will suffer as a result of the FSU acquisition. Translation: Too much. But if the court decides the exit fee and split TV money, FSU could be in trouble for both.
Key Question: What is the purpose of car rental?
ACCand’s 2016 action comes after a round of conference adjustments Texas AandM filed with the SEC.
If the answer is to get the most money, ACC has failed. The SEC and Big Ten are targeting him. But Wilhelm said there could be a way to read a 2016 paper in 2024.
Meanwhile, the industry is reeling from a wave of conference realignments that have sent Maryland from the ACC to the Big Ten and Missouri and Texas A&M from the Big 12 to the Big 12. SEC. Stability is a value (ACC used this term six times in its complaint). If stability is your first priority, you can expect success. It’s no coincidence that the Pac-12 lost out on expiring media contracts.
“I think there’s something to be said for the fact that these arguments were held at the meeting, or that the meeting was held together,” Wilhelm said.
Let’s discuss the benefit of the court of origin.
There are currently two separate cases in two courts. One was filed by ACC in Mecklenburg (NC) Superior Court and the other by FSU in Leon County Circuit Court.
“I think the state of Florida and the ACC are fighting over where the lawsuit will be filed,” Wilhelm said.
Although the ACC protested at first, Wilhelm didn’t think it would be an easy win for the conference to pursue its case in Charlotte, the league’s home. Because the time difference is only 19 hours, there is no way to move to Florida without it.
Location is important because Florida and North Carolina have different laws. There is also a perception that Florida’s judges prefer FSU more than North Carolina’s prefer to lean on the ACC.
Wilhelm said he hadn’t read a statement on how to do that, but lawyers on both sides “had to point to something they thought would work.“
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