Attorneys for Predators co-Owner David Freeman yesterday argued that his lawsuit against the club and Chair Tom Cigarran "should stay in a Nashville court -- not be sent to the NHL for arbitration," according to Nate Rau of the Nashville TENNESSEAN. Freeman's case for keeping the lawsuit in Nashville "hinges at least in part on the complicated legal argument that he's not technically an owner, but rather an investor in a trust that owns a portion of the Predators." It is a critical point for Freeman, because he and others who buy an NHL franchise sign agreements "dictating that their business disputes will be considered in arbitration hearings" overseen by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. Freeman's attorneys also argued that Bettman has an "inherent motivation to quash disputes between owners for the good of the NHL." Attorneys for the Predators and the NHL argued that Freeman has "taken other disputes through the arbitration process, and even won on at least one issue." NHL attorney George Cate made the argument that the Predators' owners are "sophisticated businessman who knew the ramifications of the consent decrees including the arbitration requirement" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 7/21). In Nashville, Jacob Steimer noted at the end of the proceedings, Judge Ellen Hobbs Lyle said she would "submit a written decision within the week." The $250M lawsuit has "caught the eyes of many in Nashville, as it basically matches" the $255M valuation Forbes most recently put on the team. A successful suit by Freeman, therefore, could "de-stabilize a franchise that has seemed to find its footing in recent years, providing an important economic engine for downtown Nashville" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 7/20).
