ASU responds to dismissal motion

Arkansas State University has filed its response to the University of Miami’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit that the Jonesboro school filed in state court over a canceled football game.

In its Monday afternoon filing, ASU said Miami’s motion should be denied because Craighead County is the “proper jurisdiction and venue for this action since the contract was to be performed in Arkansas.”

Miami filed its motion March 20 in Craighead County to dismiss ASU’s lawsuit in favor of its own suit, which was filed in Miami-Dade County, Fla.

The Florida school said dismissal is important to avoid parallel cases with conflicting rulings, and that it wants to avoid pitting the state courts’ decisions against each other.

In ASU’s most recent filing, which ASU shared with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the university said the Miami court does not have jurisdiction in the case and that the Arkansas court is “the more convenient forum.”

Both universities have filed lawsuits over a dispute regarding their canceled football game Sept. 9 because of Hurricane Irma.

The ASU and Miami athletic departments signed a contract in May 2013 that stated the Red Wolves would play in Miami during the 2014 season and the Hurricanes would play in Jonesboro during the 2017 season.

The contract stated that if one team did not appear for one of the games, the other would receive a damages payment of $650,000 by Feb. 15, 2018, unless certain circumstances made it “impossible to play the game.”

Miami filed for “declaratory relief” Feb. 13; ASU sued for “breach of contract” Feb. 16.

ASU’s response Monday said Miami’s motion to dismiss “should be denied” because it is “unsupported, and in fact contradicted, by the facts, allegations, and law in this case, and should be denied.”

Those contradictions, ASU said, include Miami Coach Mark Richt’s personal comments when he told the Miami Herald, “Could we have snuck out just in time to play that game [against Arkansas State]? We could have, logistically.”

ASU also said Miami does not have a case to dismiss ASU’s lawsuit because “Florida courts have no jurisdiction over this action.”

Miami’s lawsuit, the response said, and ASU’s lawsuit “may proceed simultaneously,” and Miami’s lawsuit “has no bearing on this case.”