Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge John Bessey
issued a "directed verdict" against Lamar Hunt in the NHL
Blue Jackets contract dispute "without giving the case to
the jury," according to Bruce Cadwallader of the COLUMBUS
DISPATCH. Attorneys for both sides had asked for a directed
verdict. Bessey ruled that Hunt "wasn't improperly forced
out of the ownership group" of the Blue Jackets, and that he
committed a "'flagrant' violation of the business contract
by taking legal actions against" former partners John
McConnell and John Wolfe "without consulting other members"
of the ownership group Columbus Hockey Limited. Hunt claims
that McConnell and Wolfe breached their contract with him by
obtaining the Blue Jackets without him. Anthony Celebrezze
Jr., Hunt's lead attorney, said, "We're going to review the
ruling, but it's safe to say there will be an appeal on this
part of the case and we'll be appealing again the contract
issues which we've said all along are the critical issues in
this case." A second trial will be called "to determine
financial damages against Hunt" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 5/15).
ESCAPE TO NEW YORK: Hunt is pursuing a similar suit
against the NHL and Nationwide Mutual Insurance in New York,
which seeks $50M in damages and aims to prevent the league
from placing a team in Columbus. But John Zeiger, one of
the attorneys for McConnell and Wolfe, said, "We think the
New York court will be very respectful of Judge Bessey's
ruling today" (Bruce Cadwallader, COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 5/15).
