In Columbus, Common Pleas Judge John Bessey granted an
injunction against Lamar Hunt, "who is fighting local
investors over control" of the city's NHL expansion
franchise, according to Bruce Cadwallader of the COLUMBUS
DISPATCH. The ruling blocks, "at least temporarily," Hunt's
attempts to argue the case in the Supreme Court of NY
County, where he had filed a countersuit on July 3 to a
lawsuit filed in Columbus June 23 by fellow NHL investors
John McConnell and Wolfe Enterprises. The injunction means
that "at least two motions will now be decided by Bessey."
One is a motion for summary judgment on the suit filed
against Hunt that "urges Bessey to rule that McConnell and
Wolfe Enterprises have the authority under the agreement to
request and obtain an NHL team. The other motion would
appoint a receiver, or neutral party, to help dissolve the
partnership" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 7/10).
ARENA UPDATE: Nationwide Mutual Insurance Cos., which
will own 90% of Columbus's downtown arena, "expects to hire
a project manager" by August 1 and select an architect and
general contractor by mid-August (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 7/8).
