TRO Case Summary. No indication whether TRO granted
Here is a screen shot of the case summary from the court’s website regarding Michigan’s Petition for a Preliminary Injunction and emergency request for a Temporary Restraining Order.
We now have a Case Number: 23-001419-CB. But there’s no indication of how the court ruled or any documents imaged from what I can find.
For updates, go to the court’s search page here: https://tcweb.ewashtenaw.org/PublicAccess/default.aspx
November 11th, 2023 at 5:15 AM ^
I believe this has been posted a dozen times throughout the night, but I don’t mind +1ing you as we are brothers F5ing the same site.
I started around 9pm and, disappointingly, do not believe the “Events and Orders of the Court” have received a new addition even once during that span.
November 11th, 2023 at 5:38 AM ^
That is what I have observed also...a whole lot of nothing.
I posted a link to the case last evening. I found the case by searching on the date field - it was the only entry, not surprisingly because the Court was closed yesterday and this was a TRO.
My hope is that the judge was taking time to look at the facts thoroughly. It is a bit hard to not see the world through maize and blue glasses but to the extent I have objectivity on the issue before the Court, I still feel the odds are favorable.
November 11th, 2023 at 6:09 AM ^
It looks like the Big Ten’s attorney entered an appearance since I checked it last night, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. They haven’t filed a response to the TRO or a request for time to file one before the judge rules.
November 11th, 2023 at 6:29 AM ^
I see that now, too. His area code stuck out to me (734). Sure enough, he, too, is a Michigan grad (Ya picked the wrong side here, Nacht!**).
**(I know, I know, professionalism, etc., and mostly I jest but still)
November 11th, 2023 at 7:37 AM ^
I know him. His partner is a contributor on this blog. He’s counterpunt.
November 11th, 2023 at 7:48 AM ^
Interesting. I wonder if he’s just local counsel. Have to assume the Big Ten also has a big firm working on this.
November 11th, 2023 at 7:52 AM ^
Nick Roumel and David are associated, this is true. David is a good attorney, but the local people are likely just signing the pleadings and filing them for the out-of-state attorneys who are drafting them.
November 11th, 2023 at 8:22 AM ^
His photo on LinkedIn is fairly ass-clownish
November 11th, 2023 at 9:15 AM ^
I am indeed David Nacht’s law partner. I have nothing to do with this case.
Nick Roumel (Counterpunt Emeritus)
November 11th, 2023 at 9:28 AM ^
Love this message board.
November 11th, 2023 at 9:39 AM ^
Talk about being a sell out and providing material aide to the enemy.
Must have been a big enough retainer to offset the boycott.
November 11th, 2023 at 9:44 AM ^
Yea, there are just some things I would not do, especially when you're just local counsel and advising on the local practices and procedures. It's not a billing bonanza. Too much of a reputational hit and I don't agree with it. Even if I was primary, I would not take it.
November 12th, 2023 at 1:19 PM ^
Nick, if you could pass a suggestion to Dave, I would love to see the B1G argue that there is time for a PI hearing instead of TRO because Maryland is currently so bad that having to play them without your head coach does not constitute irreparable injury.
It would be hilarious, and is at least a colorable argument, as the lawyers say.
November 12th, 2023 at 1:26 PM ^
Nick, please tell me that you are looking for a new partner, seriously.
November 11th, 2023 at 5:15 AM ^
I think the clerk is sleeping.
November 11th, 2023 at 5:18 AM ^
This, and give me some rope here, is making me change my opinion on an AI judicial system. Take all evidence, defense counter evidence-> input to lawgle—-> decision in five seconds. Money wire initiated.
November 11th, 2023 at 8:23 AM ^
No thank you, Judge Dredd
November 11th, 2023 at 8:23 AM ^
AI isn’t capable of anything like that. What we’re calling AI today is little but a semi-coherent spam bot.
November 11th, 2023 at 8:30 AM ^
That is easily tricked.
November 11th, 2023 at 8:39 AM ^
LOL!!! The federal gov't financial system is ~70 years ( a lot of it is still based on Cobal) and needs to be modernized more than any 'spy system' we can talk about today. And you want AI Court-bot?
Fuck that...
November 11th, 2023 at 5:16 AM ^
Thank you, OP. I don't know why this is being downvoted.
November 11th, 2023 at 5:20 AM ^
People who are normally up at this hour are doing their jobs. The rest if us are way too early before the game, drunk.
November 11th, 2023 at 5:24 AM ^
November 11th, 2023 at 5:26 AM ^
I think this mess, and the rush to judgment has ruined college football for me. I’m not thinking about Corums cuts, but some legal process? The B1G is sticking their pee pee in the pudding
November 11th, 2023 at 5:16 AM ^
Given how many insane court rulings on non-sports issues I’ve seen in this country over the last 20 years, getting the request for the TRO turned down wouldn’t shock me at all.
November 11th, 2023 at 6:40 AM ^
Agree. Rational behavior has not ruled the day. Personally, I would approve the stay just because of their Orwellian seizure of the English language is offensive.
November 11th, 2023 at 8:25 AM ^
We could get political, but we don't even need to get political. The horrors I've seen in criminal and patent cases is enough.
I don't ever want to have to appear in court, innocent or otherwise. I would have zero confidence that facts would carry the day.
November 11th, 2023 at 5:33 AM ^
Reaching back into law school a bit here, so apologies if it’s incorrect:
But we may not see a decision on the docket because we filed ex parte and I don’t think the non-moving party is entitled to notice of the decision for the TRO.
November 11th, 2023 at 5:39 AM ^
How would their actions (in general) get restrained without notice? Obviously here Harbaugh can just show up. But the refs could e.g. flag the sideline repeatedly until he leaves, if they haven't been notified.
November 11th, 2023 at 5:43 AM ^
Yeah, I was thinking much the same thing. Without a judicial order to show the officials, he can't prove that he's entitled to be there.
There's also another possibility: Penn State refuses to recognize any judicial order from a court in Michigan. That's when this would go completely plaid.
November 11th, 2023 at 5:49 AM ^
That’s something I haven’t been able to figure out - why they went state court here. The request for TRO we footnote that Illinois law (relevant because Big HQ there) on TROs is essentially the same. But that’s a civil procedure / choice of law aspect of this I can’t wrap my head around.
inital thought was that by filing in state court we add the task of removal to the Big Ten’s to-do list. But curious for what other mgolawyers think
November 11th, 2023 at 6:12 AM ^
If you read the filing, it kinda lays out why they went state court - argues that there isn’t complete diversity and as such no federal jurisdiction.
November 11th, 2023 at 6:56 AM ^
Right. The Big Ten is an unincorporated association, and for diversity purposes, unincorporated associations are the citizens of every state in which they have a member. In other words, though headquartered in Illinois, the Big Ten is a citizen of Michigan (and every other state with a Big Ten member). Which means there's no basis for diversity jurisdiction, AND that the Big Ten has no argument that it's not subject to jurisdiction in Michigan state court.
November 11th, 2023 at 7:03 AM ^
No, it's not. The Big Ten Conference Inc is a Delaware nonprofit corporation.
November 11th, 2023 at 7:49 AM ^
“Nonprofit.”
LOLz.
November 11th, 2023 at 6:12 AM ^
If you file in Washtenaw County you give yourself a decent chance at drawing a judge with season tickets.
It’s not certain there are grounds for removal. I haven’t read the actual complaint but I imagine their claims are various versions of breach-of-contract and possibly other state law theories (equity/bad faith, maybe some kind of tortious interference claim). Even if there is a federal claim available, M might have chosen not to bring that claim if they prefer to litigate in state court.
A Michigan judge can still apply Illinois law. A forum selection clause might require the case to be filed in a particular court, but a choice of law clause just means the controlling statutes and judicial opinions are those from the specified jurisdiction (which can be different than the location where the case is filed).
November 11th, 2023 at 8:17 AM ^
Home Cooking
November 11th, 2023 at 8:30 AM ^
There are two plaintiffs here: the University/Regents and Jim Harbaugh. The University of Michigan is a state government entity. State governments are not citizens of any state, they *are* the state. So there is no diversity of citizenship here because the University is a non-diverse party. Therefore the Big Ten cannot remove the case (or, rather, it would be remanded if they do).
Without diversity of citizenship, the only possible basis for removal would be federal question jurisdiction. But the complaint raises exclusively state law claims, so there is no federal question. Therefore removal is unlikely or, if it occurs, would likely result in remand to state court.
November 11th, 2023 at 8:34 AM ^
MGoLawyer here, and DBockie is correct re why we are in state court.
November 11th, 2023 at 8:46 AM ^
I know the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction (i.e. it’s not an appellate court, like it usually is, but rather the trial court) over cases between states. Can’t remember the specifics of when just one side is a state.
November 11th, 2023 at 9:25 AM ^
That is for when a state sues another state. Here we do not have that. We have the state of Michigan (the University/Regents) and a citizen of Michigan (Harbaugh) suing a citizen of another state (the Big Ten). So there is no basis for invoking the exclusive original jurisdiction of the US Supreme Court. That could only happen if, for example, the state of Michigan sued the state of Illinois or something.
November 11th, 2023 at 9:48 AM ^
Yea the state court decision struck me as welll. I know it’s not always a simple legal or strategic decision, but I would have thought federal court would have been faster are more likely to have binding effect.
November 11th, 2023 at 6:08 AM ^
Michigan is a team with real loyalties to Harbaugh. Remember JJ's "Free Harbaugh" shirt in the first game of the season?
It would not shock me if the TRO was granted and Penn State refused to accept it, Michigan might walk off the field as Harbaugh was being removed, with emphasis on "might." How much would that cost Fox and everyone and everything downstream?
Talk about a tire fire!
November 11th, 2023 at 6:17 AM ^
If the TRO is granted then Harbaugh will not be suspended. Were Penn State to “refuse to accept it” then they would forfeit the game and enrage their own fans. So that seems very, very unlikely to happen.
November 11th, 2023 at 6:18 AM ^
I would hope refusal would put a party in sort of contempt of court. Plus, PSU or B1G pushing back on an order allowing Harbaugh to coach underscores Michigan’s argument that his presence makes a difference and we would suffer irreparable harm were he not allowed to coach.
November 11th, 2023 at 6:46 AM ^
With Harbaugh being the uber-competitor that he is, something tells me he would not want his team taking that kind of action.
That would essentially mean Michigan forfeits the game, Penn State wins, a result they will happily agree to. All of Michigan’s goals go right out the window if they walk off the field.
November 11th, 2023 at 7:01 AM ^
Wait. If PSU refuses to accept it, wouldn't that be defying a legal order, like contempt?
If the TRO is issued and they try to force JH off the field, wouldn't that open a whole lot legal issues on PSU?
November 11th, 2023 at 8:28 AM ^
It's not contempt because PSU isn't legally involved here.
The way it would go is, the TRO overrules the B1G, so Harbaugh is allowed to be there, so PSU's temper tantrum would amount to whatever the B1G thinks it is. Which should be a forfeit, but who knows anymore.
November 11th, 2023 at 8:40 AM ^
Not understanding how PSU could refuse to recognize a TRO. How does PSU have any authority to determine who is on Michigan's sideline? Could they simply not allow Harbaugh to enter the stadium? If so, on what grounds? If they don't have to have grounds, then could Michigan simply not allow entrance for key OSU players in 2 weeks?