Reed Also ……………………..
Florida AG sues ACC for failing to disclose the ESPN pact………………………….
In her lawsuit, filed on Thursday, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody accused the ACC of “wrongfully withholding public records from review,” citing the ESPN agreement that was requested and sent to Florida State authorities or the AG’s office.
“Under secret media rights contracts located somewhere in its North Carolina headquarters, the ACC has made claims that could cost Florida State University more than half a billion dollars,” the attorney general’s office stated in a statement. “Attorney General Moody first took action in January, requesting the ACC to produce the contracts at the center of FSU’s fight to leave the ACC, but the ACC unlawfully refused. Now, Attorney General Moody is taking legal action to require disclosure of these public records.”
Judge John Cooper convened a hearing in Leon County Circuit Court on Monday, during which FSU’s legal team brought up the ESPN agreement. Peter Rush, one of the FSU attorneys, produced the agreement and made reference to it, although he claimed that it had been deleted. Rush said that Cooper hadn’t had a chance to look at the ESPN deal, but the courtroom conversation shifted to other issues.
It was filed on Thursday by Moody’s.
“The ACC is requesting that Florida State University, a state organization, pay or lose more than $500 million, but they won’t provide the documentation supporting that exorbitant demand. The ACC was requested to provide public records in January, but they did not completely cooperate. We intend to file a lawsuit against the ACC for improperly suppressing these significant public records.