And here we go again.
Just a week or so after a Monongalia County Circuit Court judge denied the Big East’s motion to dismiss West Virginia’s lawsuit against the conference, a Rhode Island judge has denied WVU’s motion to dismiss the Big East’s lawsuit against the institution, West Virginia MetroNews reported this afternoon.
The 28-page ruling states that WVU’s motion was denied on grounds of Personal Jurisdiction, Service of Process, Sovereign Immunity, First to File and Forum Non Conveniens.
In layman’s terms, the Rhode Island court denied WVU’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that the court did have jurisdiction over WVU, a supposed alter ego of the state of West Virginia, despite the institution’s claim otherwise.
That means both motions have been dismissed. The Big East also recently asked for preliminary injunction to keep WVU in the Big East for the terms agreed upon in the conference bylaws.
The crossing litigation between WVU and the Big East was a divorce that was originally thought to be something settled out of court for X amount of money. WVU said they plan to be in the Big 12 by July 1, 2012.
But, with each passing day, that feels less and less likely to happen. And, the longer this goes on, the more it benefits the Big East. If, for whatever reason, WVU does leave for the Big 12 at that deadline without winning or settling their lawsuit, expect a hefty exit fee that would reach in the tens of millions of dollars in damages.
If I’m a WVU fan, I hope the school did their legal due diligence before filing suit nearly two months ago. This doesn’t look like it’s going to be as easy as perhaps WVU thought it would be. Or, at least, as easy as they’ve made it sound.