WVU filed a lawsuit in its own state yesterday against the Big East. If you feel like wading through it, you can read it here (PDF). I’ve looked it over, but I haven’t practiced law in nearly a decade. So my opinion that it is pretty flimsy, but for the fact that they are attempting to have it litigated in West Virginia, is not really that of an expert. Would it surprise anyone to learn that the Circuit Court judges in Monongalia County, West Virginia all received their J.D.’s from WVU? Didn’t think so.
The gist of the case seems to be that the Big East is incompetently run, that the departures of Pitt, Syracuse and TCU means the Big East is not the conference they really joined, and that with those departures the Big East is doomed to lose their AQ status in the future. All of which, may (is) true, but irrelevant when it comes to the contract that WVU not only signed, but actively constructed:
…former West Virginia president David Hardesty, a lawyer, wrote the current Big East exit penalties, which include a $5 million departure fee and that 27-month waiting period.
I encourage everyone to read the analysis of the lawsuit by Brian Ewart of VUHoops.com. It’s a solid piece from a guy actually practicing law. I think he’s right about this primarily being about trying to force the Big East to negotiate an exit price, but I don’t think the Big East will back down on holding WVU (and Pitt and Syracuse) for at least one year.
