WSU, OSU File Emergency Restraining Order vs P12

Filed in Whitman County. How the fuck could there not be a choice of law and choice of venue provision?

BUT WHAT DOES THIS DO TO THE APPLE CUP?

Cougzz said:

Geevis_and_Butthead said:

BUT WHAT DOES THIS DO TO THE APPLE CUP?

Hysterical relic.

Crisped.

I'm sure we have some resident big brain lawyers who can help clarify the contract law at play here. But on the face of it, I have a hard time believing that WSU and OSU are going to successfully pilfer $100m of jointly-owned assets based on a technicality.

There are a few issues at play here:

1) The governance of the conference through this academic year with all 12 members

I would expect that there will be arguments made that the 10 departing schools are satisfying the terms of their existing Grant of Rights and that the continuance of governing through the end of that agreement is appropriate … it also wouldn’t shock me if they argued that sole governance by Wazzu and Oregon St could lead to punitive behavior by those two members at the expense of the other 10 with some form of injunction requested for the duration of the agreement

This probably can get tied up in court for a good chunk of the remaining agreement

2) The future of conference assets beyond the expiration of the current agreement

My understanding is that none of the 10 departing schools have made any claims as to any of the conference’s assets post the expiration of the existing GOR and are fine with the assets remaining with the conference

The argument that would be made by the 10 would be that they are not doing anything to prevent the remaining 2 schools to act after the expiration of the GOR or preventing them from maximizing the remaining assets

It looks like Wazzu and Oregon St are claiming that access to information is being withheld … I can see the access being provided for decisions made post expiration in exchange for no nefarious decisions made (exclusion of the other 10) between now and the expiration

3) The Conference as a going concern

This is likely to be an argument by the 10 departing members depending on how much Wazzu and Oregon St try to push the envelope here and why it’s so important the language of a “reverse merger” with the Mountain West is

Courts can at times cut right through the BS of factual and financial manipulation and in this case there are a few things working against Wazzu and Oregon St

A) The expiration of the GOR and that the remaining 2 do not have any palpable proof of the conference as a going concern through any media deals and/or addition of new members … moreover they really can’t claim any tortuous actions by the departing 10 because their departures coincide with the end of the existing agreement and they are effectively leaving as “free agents”

The terms of any reverse merger will likely walk, talk, and act like Wazzu and Oregon St at best merging, but more appropriately joining the Mountain West than the other way around … it will be run by the Mountain West leadership with the balance of their infrastructure in the day to day with Wazzu and Oregon St retaining and contributing access to the assets that they bring from the PAC … the Courts look at the facts and circumstances far more than repurposing the PAC name and concluding that it’s the same conference

C) There are minimum thresholds in place to be viewed as a viable conference and Wazzu and Oregon St do not meet them at present … combined with the other side is that the cost to break agreements to join a continuing viable stand alone conference in the PAC is prohibitive and highly unlikely … that’s a directional threshold against the conference remaining as a going concern

CONCLUSION

I’d recommend Wazzu and Oregon St tread lightly here because there are some doors that they may not want to go down

It SHOULD be a relative nothing burger if the lawsuit is settled with reasonable concessions on both sides

But Wazzu in particular hasn’t shown any interest in being reasonable and want their pound of flesh …

Careful what you wish for