A mediator has been assigned and both parties have agreed to mediation according this site.

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com...umor-mill/

No more posturing - time to settle this like grown-ups!

ACC keeps what they have, Maryland drops their counter suit, both sides walk away, and the fans launch into an endless discussion about the demise of the ACC.

On April 2, the NC court stayed all discovery pending resolution of the ACC's motion to dismiss Maryland's antitrust claim. Filings are now complete on the motion, and it appears to be ready for hearing.

If the NC court follows the example of the Maryland court and dismisses Maryland's antitrust claim, then the great bulk of Maryland's discovery requests will be irrelevant. The court also issued the order today appointing a mediator.

My guess on the settlement is still $27 million.

(04-28-2014 03:47 PM)Hitch Wrote:  ACC keeps what they have

How much is that?

(04-28-2014 04:15 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(04-28-2014 03:47 PM)Hitch Wrote:  ACC keeps what they have

How much is that?

between $32 AND $34M, IIRC.

Would this mean that the exit fee for the ACC is $27 million for any team? Not predicting any departure but this is almost half the $52 million that was passed.

(04-28-2014 04:41 PM)bseer Wrote:  Would this mean that the exit fee for the ACC is $27 million for any team? Not predicting any departure but this is almost half the $52 million that was passed.

Those who voted for the exit fee might have a harder time fighting to have the exit fee reduced ... and by the time the GOR is close to expiring, they likely wouldn't have the due process claims available to them that Maryland is offering, in terms of receiving notice as spelled out in the bylaws, as sometime between now and then there would have been a vote to confirm the fee with ample advance notice.

Yes, all additional rights agreements will be null and void.
It will be open season again.

(04-28-2014 04:41 PM)bseer Wrote:  Would this mean that the exit fee for the ACC is $27 million for any team? Not predicting any departure but this is almost half the $52 million that was passed.

No, the ACC still has the 3 x in effect plus leaving behind TV rights through the GOR.

Just because parties settle does not mean the ACC will have amended their bylaws and they wont. However I doubt the ACC settles for anything less than they have in hand by June 30 2014, which will be $32 or so million. The ACC also has some money tucked away in investments drawing interest that would have been MD's and that's not an upfront part of the exit fee.

(04-28-2014 04:48 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(04-28-2014 04:41 PM)bseer Wrote:  Would this mean that the exit fee for the ACC is $27 million for any team? Not predicting any departure but this is almost half the $52 million that was passed.

Those who voted for the exit fee might have a harder time fighting to have the exit fee reduced ... and by the time the GOR is close to expiring, they likely wouldn't have the due process claims available to them that Maryland is offering, in terms of receiving notice as spelled out in the bylaws, as sometime between now and then there would have been a vote to confirm the fee with ample advance notice.

How do you know MD did not have notice? That's their assertion, but they have proven nothing to that effect.

(04-28-2014 04:48 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(04-28-2014 04:41 PM)bseer Wrote:  Would this mean that the exit fee for the ACC is $27 million for any team? Not predicting any departure but this is almost half the $52 million that was passed.

Those who voted for the exit fee might have a harder time fighting to have the exit fee reduced ... and by the time the GOR is close to expiring, they likely wouldn't have the due process claims available to them that Maryland is offering, in terms of receiving notice as spelled out in the bylaws, as sometime between now and then there would have been a vote to confirm the fee with ample advance notice.

It is precisely to avoid having a court determine what a reasonable exit fee is that the ACC has strong motivation to settle out of court. You can argue all day what the legal points are. But at the end of the day, courts don't always do what we think they will, especially if a jury is involved. No plaintiff should want to take that chance when the stakes are as high as this.

I would be surprised if the B1G isn't quietly pressuring Maryland to settle this quickly. They don't want a precedent set either, unless they are absolutely certain what that precedent will be.

My guess is the settlement ends up being money withheld which is around $30 million or so IIRC. Maybe Maryland has to schedule some OOC games with ACC opponents in addition to anything existing as well.

(04-28-2014 05:12 PM)lumberpack4 Wrote:  

(04-28-2014 04:48 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(04-28-2014 04:41 PM)bseer Wrote:  Would this mean that the exit fee for the ACC is $27 million for any team? Not predicting any departure but this is almost half the $52 million that was passed.

Those who voted for the exit fee might have a harder time fighting to have the exit fee reduced ... and by the time the GOR is close to expiring, they likely wouldn't have the due process claims available to them that Maryland is offering, in terms of receiving notice as spelled out in the bylaws, as sometime between now and then there would have been a vote to confirm the fee with ample advance notice.

How do you know MD did not have notice? That's their assertion, but they have proven nothing to that effect.

"they likely wouldn't have the due process claims available to them that Maryland is offering."

Where the "claim"="assertion" would be proven, unproven, or disproven would be in the court case ... or now, it would seem, as part of the mediation process.

When P5 conference realignment is once again a live issue for the ACC as the current GOR ticks down, the opportunity to make any such claims (whether or not they could in fact be proven) will have long since passed.

(04-28-2014 05:35 PM)ken d Wrote:  It is precisely to avoid having a court determine what a reasonable exit fee is that the ACC has strong motivation to settle out of court. You can argue all day what the legal points are. But at the end of the day, courts don't always do what we think they will, especially if a jury is involved. No plaintiff should want to take that chance when the stakes are as high as this.

Which goes along with what I said ... its about the risk of getting dinged on a claim made by the other side, when the claims made by both sides are actually tested in court. The risk of getting dinged on due process on the exit fee goes down markedly if everyone in the conference has voted to confirm the fee not only through the regular conference meeting process but also with a number of years in advance to think through their position on the exit fee. And there is ample time to get all that done before the clock on the GOR starts ticking down.

(04-28-2014 06:04 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(04-28-2014 05:12 PM)lumberpack4 Wrote:  

(04-28-2014 04:48 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(04-28-2014 04:41 PM)bseer Wrote:  Would this mean that the exit fee for the ACC is $27 million for any team? Not predicting any departure but this is almost half the $52 million that was passed.

Those who voted for the exit fee might have a harder time fighting to have the exit fee reduced ... and by the time the GOR is close to expiring, they likely wouldn't have the due process claims available to them that Maryland is offering, in terms of receiving notice as spelled out in the bylaws, as sometime between now and then there would have been a vote to confirm the fee with ample advance notice.

How do you know MD did not have notice? That's their assertion, but they have proven nothing to that effect.

"they likely wouldn't have the due process claims available to them that Maryland is offering."

Where the "claim"="assertion" would be proven, unproven, or disproven would be in the court case ... or now, it would seem, as part of the mediation process.

When P5 conference realignment is once again a live issue for the ACC as the current GOR ticks down, the opportunity to make any such claims (whether or not they could in fact be proven) will have long since passed.

(04-28-2014 05:35 PM)ken d Wrote:  It is precisely to avoid having a court determine what a reasonable exit fee is that the ACC has strong motivation to settle out of court. You can argue all day what the legal points are. But at the end of the day, courts don't always do what we think they will, especially if a jury is involved. No plaintiff should want to take that chance when the stakes are as high as this.

Which goes along with what I said ... its about the risk of getting dinged on a claim made by the other side, when the claims made by both sides are actually tested in court. The risk of getting dinged on due process on the exit fee goes down markedly if everyone in the conference has voted to confirm the fee not only through the regular conference meeting process but also with a number of years in advance to think through their position on the exit fee. And there is ample time to get all that done before the clock on the GOR starts ticking down.

ACC has a huge risk here. They will have $30 million in their pocket and with a court win can get another $20 million or so. With a court loss they could theoretically pay out $180 million. There won't be much upside for them. They could also get their whole exit fee structure invalidated.

Maryland is also risking losing another $20 million, not chump change. So they have a big risk. On the other hand, their relative risk of not settling is decreasing as the ACC keeps withholding. But it will also be hard to get that money back. So they could spend a lot on attorneys' fees and end up in a similar place even if they get a partial win.

Well I think the settlement will be somewhere between 25 - 32 million with legal fees address to it also, but that is my opinion. This really needs to be cleared up ASAP, but hopefully both sides get what they are looking for in this divorce.

Mediation is only good if both sides are willing to compromise. It seems to me Maryland and the ACC are pretty dug into their positions and neither is willing to settle. If that's the case, this whole attempt at mediation will just be another delay in the whole process. If they're both confident in their positions, they should agree to arbitration and then we can get this decided and done with quickly.

I'm sure ESPN is pushing these two towards mediation to avoid discovery.

Obviously the likelihood of discovery is pushing this through resolution. It might have been stayed temporarily--but just temporarily.

The ACC knows their best bet is to resolve the case quickly even though they'll likely have to fork over a big chunk of what they withheld--such as the NCAA distribution portion of withholding.

As this and other articles have pointed out:

This January, Maryland filed a 53-page counterclaim alleging antitrust violations by the ACC, which was viewed by one individual with experience in college realignment litigation as an application of “serious settlement pressure.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/terr...c-lawsuit/

This should be settled relatively soon.

(04-29-2014 12:29 AM)Tbringer Wrote:  Obviously the likelihood of discovery is pushing this through resolution. It might have been stayed temporarily--but just temporarily.

The ACC knows their best bet is to resolve the case quickly even though they'll likely have to fork over a big chunk of what they withheld--such as the NCAA distribution portion of withholding.

As this and other articles have pointed out:

This January, Maryland filed a 53-page counterclaim alleging antitrust violations by the ACC, which was viewed by one individual with experience in college realignment litigation as an application of “serious settlement pressure.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/terr...c-lawsuit/

This should be settled relatively soon.

I certainly hope so.

While I'm sure that over time the damage done by Maryland leaving the ACC will surely exceed $52 million, I really don't think that sticking them with such a huge bill is the best way to deal with this. If the ACC ends up with a good-sized exit fee (say $32M), I'd like to see them just settle on that and move on. JMO.