By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
  1. Bill Archer

    Bill Archer BigSoccer Supporter

    Mar 19, 2002
    Washington, NC
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #1 Bill Archer, Dec 7, 2017
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2017

    Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

    By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM

    In a plot twist worthy
    of the the worst of novels, the 1996 theft of the Cleveland Browns by the universally detested Art Modell may end up making it impossible for Don Garber to steal the Columbus Crew.

    Irony, thy name is SoccerDon.

    There Garber was yesterday in his ultra-luxe suite high above fifth avenue in New York, whistling a happy tune, deciding between the scampi and the scallops for lunch and getting ready for the MLS Board of Governors meeting where he's going to give the increasingly impotent owners their marching orders on which two cities they will grant the high privilege of handing over, collectively, a $300 million payday.

    [​IMG]

    Plus, with Columbus finally out of the playoffs he was finalizing his trip to Toronto to attend the MLS Cup game without having to decide between a) lying about being stuck in traffic and b) trying to pretend that he doesn't hear 22,000 people loudly suggesting he perform anatomically impossible acts on himself.

    Then an obscure state legislator from Central Ohio named Mike Duffey (R - BiteMeDon) rolled a stink bomb into the Don's perfect day.

    It seems that Duffey discovered an obscure law dating from the 1996 outrage over Modell's craven betrayal which may wreck Don and Tony's plans for being named Kings of the SXSW parade next year. It's a very short, concise law so I'll quote it in full:

    Restrictions on owner of professional sports team that uses a tax-supported facility.

    No owner of a professional sports team that uses a tax-supported facility for most of its home games and receives financial assistance from the state or a political subdivision thereof shall cease playing most of its home games at the facility and begin playing most of its home games elsewhere unless the owner either:

    (A) Enters into an agreement with the political subdivision permitting the team to play most of its home games elsewhere;

    (B) Gives the political subdivision in which the facility is located not less than six months' advance notice of the owner's intention to cease playing most of its home games at the facility and, during the six months after such notice, gives the political subdivision or any individual or group of individuals who reside in the area the opportunity to purchase the team.

    Effective Date: 06-20-1996 .

    (emphasis mine)

    MAPFRE stadium sits on fully tax-abated land with well-below market rate rent and gleans considerable income from the state built and maintained paved parking lots surrounding the place. There's no question they're "tax-supported".

    Since MLS has already turned down a very legitimate $150 million offer for the Crew, there's no question that Columbus is fully prepared to pony up the cash tomorrow and shortly thereafter build the downtown stadium which Garber and Precourt claim the Crew needs to meet whatever ethereal "business metrics" they demand.

    However, as we all know, that's not what TheSoccerDon wants; he wants out of Columbus. Period.

    Now in point of fact this law - which nobody knew about until just yesterday but which, in another signal achievement of Don Garber's tenure at the helm of MLS, if it sticks could quickly sweep the land from sea to shining taxpayer-funded stadium - has not, we're told by the legal types, been through the courts yet and nobody can say for sure how it will play out.

    We can be fairly certain though that one of two things will happen here:

    1) Various Ohio courts - tough luck on that one, eh? - will decide that the Crew will stay right where it is, thanks

    2) An ugly, protracted legal battle which could take years to adjudicate will make a bunch of lawyers very rich and Don very unemployed.

    Of course, as per usual, MLS has no comment whatsoever. Their media office has spent the last couple months refusing to answer the phone and that's likely to continue. They ought to let them spend the Winter in Florida.

    However, from whatever bunker Fratass Tony is cowering in came this dispatch, without a header or a signature:

    “Precourt Sports Ventures has seen the public remarks made by State Rep. Mike Duffey and PSV will not have further comment at this time."

    Now in truth it would be hard to match Garber's craven public act of cowardice from last week's Eastern Conference semi-final match in Toronto when, after promising FoxSports that he would appear for a pregame interview with Alexi Lalas and "extensively" deal with questions surrounding the Crew, he then had his people tell them that he was "stuck in traffic" and wouldn't be appearing.

    (Their eyerolls were, however, well worth tuning in for)

    Apparently he was still "stuck in traffic" at halftime and during the postgame as well. Hell, Lalas would have gladly met him in the parking lot or the hotel bar or the SkyLounge at Toronto Pearson. Say what you want but Roger Goodell or Adam Silver or Rob Manfred, as arrogant as they are wouldn't dare pull a stunt like that.

    The problem may have been that, earlier that day, the Mayor of the City of Columbus sent Garber and Precourt a very nice letter offering various routes to a stadium solution and inviting them to talk with him. MLS/PSV sent an insulting one sentence response - without header or signature - basically inviting His Honor to F*ck himself and possibly that didn't fit DonnyG's carefully vetted "extensively" prepared comments.

    Who knows.

    One other result of Rep. Duffey's letter to the Ohio AG will almost certainly be the torpedoing of Cincinnati's shot at being named one of the two expansion teams to be announced next week.

    It looked very much like they were a front-runner, but a big part of that was always going to be a tacit statement about replacing Columbus with another Ohio team, thus proving that it's not about flyover country but "business metrics". However, with the Columbus legal issues up in the air it says here they're not going to give Cincy a damned thing.

    In addition, they're going to want to take a serious look at locating a team in a state where it appears the law says they can never be removed. That takes away a big chunk of the league's (read: Garber's) power over a team, something they're not likely to cede without serious thought.

    So unless the league is going to change their minds about not wanting to play at cavernous Ford Field in Detroit, this likely means "Welcome to MLS, Sacramento".

    We'll look forward to seeing you play the Crew for many years to come.

    Over the past few weeks I've heard the same question from a number of people which, to summarize, goes something like: "Archer, you ignorant slut, why do you keep blaming Garber for this mess? Isn't it really Precourt doing all of this?"

    By way of an answer:

    In Austin Texas there's a lawyer named Richard Suttle and I'll let the Austin Chronicle describe who he is in a 2010 article entitled "Suttle as a kick in the head":

    Better count your chickens, Austinites, because Richard Suttle is loose in the henhouse again. Everyone's favorite developers' attorney is at City Council today ...

    Now, the very fact that Richard Suttle is involved in this project should give everyone pause. He's the developers' equivalent of criminal attorney Roy Minton: the guy you go to when you're guilty, when you want to get something approved or subsidized that you really don't deserve."


    This is the guy who appeared before Austin City Council last month getting them to agree to do an "inventory" of city parks to see which ones might have enough space for a soccer stadium.

    Now in most places, if City officials want to know something like this, they call up the Parks Commissioner and ask him to fax over a list. Maybe 20 minutes, tops.

    But apparently not in Austin. In Austin they need to send scout cars up and down the streets, tracking down signs that say "City Park" on them because, apparently, the Parks Department doesn't have a sheet of paper which lists, you know, City Parks.

    The question is, who does Suttle work for down there? Well, here's a letter from Don:

    [​IMG]


    Garber himself says that Suttle works for him. Precourt, PSV and the Crew are not mentioned.

    And here, via the Austin City Clerk's office, and the indispensable Massive Report, is a list of registered lobbyists working in that city, all of whom are employed by Suttle's law firm - Armbrust & Brown - and all of whom report that they are working on behalf of "Major League Soccer, 450 Fifth Ave. New York:

    [​IMG]

    There's lots more, like the PR firm Elizabeth Christian Public Relations, which has been retained to represent this whole charade down there - they admit to having hosted a series of "get acquainted meetings" for city officials and soccer reps, although the real question, as posed by Massive report is:

    Does MLS have similar operations in any of the 12 expansion candidate cities?

    And the answer of course is no. None at all. 12 other cities are knocking themselves out, spending significant amounts of money and time and other resources in an effort to land an MLS team. Meanwhile, Austin Texas is doing nothing, asking for nothing and contributing nothing: Don Garber is spending large amounts of league money and time trying to force the Columbus Crew down their throats.

    It's insane.

    However, the really instructive point is the date on Garber's letter: August 7.

    Note that the MLS Board of Governors met at the All Star Game on August 2, and within a week MLS, in addition to giving Suttle what amounts to MLS credentials also registered two proposed team names including the monumentally unique and exciting "Austin FC". Meanwhile, PSV started the "MLS2ATX" website ("a community of supporters working together to bring Major League Soccer to Austin, TX.") and at least two astroturf twitter accounts purporting to be run by grassroots supporters.

    (Deadspin called these astroturfing efforts "oafish" and I can't top that so I won't try, except to note that, since the people running them apparently didn't know how to turn "location" off on a Twitter, everyone saw that they were all being run out of Columbus Ohio, unquestionably by Crew employees working at MAPFRE Stadium offices.)

    As I said, all this and much more happened immediately after the August 2 BoG meeting, making it appear very much like something was decided then that gave Precourt the green light.

    So today as the suddenly gutless, suspiciously silent owners gather in Toronto - I hope someone makes sure Don gets there in time - they're going to get to review the fruits of that decision.

    Now there's a wall well-worth being a fly on.


    * BigSoccer Commandatore @Smithsoccer1721 informs me that an unknown local citizen was the one who told Rep, Duffey about the law.

    (*UPDATE* Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine says that after a review of the applicable law,
    "should ownership of the Columbus Crew initiate a move of the team without complying with Ohio law, I am prepared to take the necessary legal action under this law to protect the interests of the state of Ohio..")
     
    esc0, Robbo Crewfan, KC96 and 46 others repped this.

Comments

Discussion in 'Articles' started by Bill Archer, Dec 7, 2017.

    1. Bill Archer

      Bill Archer BigSoccer Supporter

      Mar 19, 2002
      Washington, NC
      Club:
      Columbus Crew
      Nat'l Team:
      United States

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      I think you're right on the nose here.

      It seems to me that as the league moved from 3 (really 2) owners to almost 20, the power of individual owners was gradually diluted and, as he moved from success to success, he was given his own way in everything.

      But if this thing goes south, I think he's going to find himself out on a limb with some owners who've been laying low - there always are some - gleefully sawing away on the branch.
       
    2. jason.wall.963

      jason.wall.963 New Member

      Jul 13, 2015

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      I read the law as saying you have to give 6 months notice to move a team, and if you don't recieve a market value offer during those 6 months you're free to move
       
    3. OnlyOneTInFootball

      Mar 15, 2011
      Club:
      Portland Timbers

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      I almost want this law to be tested. If it holds up, it will have a drastic change on relocations in any sport. If Washington had this before the Sonics, for instance. Or the Rams. The Chargers.

      If this works, I can see other states passing similar legislation and then enforcing it when need be. Teams will then have more of an incentive to build privately funded stadiums.

      If it holds up, the Crew might ruin it for everyone.
       
      C-bus and Atomic Fury repped this.
    4. bofahey

      bofahey Member

      Sep 1, 2001
      Washington, DC

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      The law speaks in terms of a "tax-supported facility," not a private facility built on tax-supported/leased land. The Crew's lease specifically differentiates between the "Property" (which is what is leased) and the "Project Facilities" (which is what was private built and is now owned by Precourt Sports Ventures LLC). The legislature could have drafted the law a different way, but they didn't. They specifically drafted it to cover "facilities," and the Ohio Exposition Commission then chose to sign a lease that makes clear that the "facilities" are to be privately built and funded, and that it's the underlying property that is leased (and therefore arguably tax-supported).

      Perhaps a local court might disregard those distinctions, but won't Precourt Sports Ventures be able to get the case moved to federal court (given that, to my knowledge, their place of incorporation and principal place of business are both outside the State of Ohio, thereby triggering diversity jurisdiction for the federal courts)? Is a federal judge going to apply the law the way Mike DeWine wants it interpreted? We'll see, but seems like wishful thinking to me.
       
    5. Cavan9

      Cavan9 Member

      Nov 16, 2011
      Silver Spring, MD
      Club:
      DC United
      Nat'l Team:
      United States

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      This is a legal mess that MLS should not want any part of. It was all so unnecessary too. It was brought about because Garber wanted to cut corners to achieve growth. Rather than growing the MLS 1.0 teams so their attendance and media buzz is similar to the 2.0+ teams he started thinking about turning a 1.0 team that isn't in a top-10 media market into a 2.0 team in a similar non-top 10 media market.
       
    6. Cavan9

      Cavan9 Member

      Nov 16, 2011
      Silver Spring, MD
      Club:
      DC United
      Nat'l Team:
      United States

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      Correct me if I'm wrong, Columbus fans, but aren't the parking lots 100% owned and maintained by the state? Also, doesn't the "tax-supported" language in the law apply to the Crew since they pay below-market rent to the government for the land under Crew Stadium?
       
    7. Aaron d

      Aaron d Member+

      May 15, 2005
      Wooster
      Nat'l Team:
      United States

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      The judge doesn't have to apply the law that way immediately. What helps Columbus the most is the fact that they may not need to win a long legal battle to win the war. Going through the trial court and subsequent appeals may be enough to make MLS give up and settle. You have to think Cbus has the advantage in a long legal battle when the final ruling would end up in their favor or not. The longer the case ends up in the court system, the worse MLS will look.
       
    8. bofahey

      bofahey Member

      Sep 1, 2001
      Washington, DC

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      Keep in mind though that the State would need to obtain an injunction, so they'd have to demonstrate that they are likely to success on the merits. If they don't get an injunction, the case is essentially over because at that point the team is gone, and they're back to suing for damages (which probably will end up being a judgment that Precourt has to hand over the stadium or pay to remove the facilities from the site). Those are the same damages that would exist even absent this law, because that's what the Crew is required to do if they terminate the lease early. Maybe I'm missing some way that they could avoid having a case removed to federal court, but if not, I just don't see a federal judge enforcing the law with this expansive, populist formulation that's being proposed.

      It's obvious that the point of this law was to protect taxpayers from building stadiums with public money, and then having teams leave before the original lease term. That makes sense, because taxpayers don't want to spend money on an empty facility. But in this case, all that taxpayers did was hand over some land. The Crew can make taxpayers whole by removing the stadium at ownership's expense and handing back the land.

      If the law was meant to broader than I'm interpreting, it was up to the legislature to draft it that way. Is a court really going to give it a populist reading when it essentially takes away a private property right? I just don't see it happening.
       
      AndyMead and westcoast ape repped this.
    9. hardhead

      hardhead Moderator
      Staff Member

      Aug 19, 2008
      NEO
      Club:
      Columbus Crew

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      Is that @naas ?
       
    10. OnlyOneTInFootball

      Mar 15, 2011
      Club:
      Portland Timbers

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      But it doesn't actually take away any property rights. As you've certainly read, if you own a professional sports team in Ohio, and use taxpayer assistance to run the team, your right to move the team is now subject to approval of those assisting you. It's not that dissimilar to being beholden to a small investor in your company.

      If you want to build a private stadium on private land, you are free to do so. Precourt could be halfway to Austin right now if the Hunts had owned the land as well when they built the facility.
       
    11. Atomic Fury

      Atomic Fury BigSoccer Supporter

      Apr 30, 2007
      Pennsylvania
      Club:
      Manchester United FC
      Nat'l Team:
      United States

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      I'm sincerely (but cautiously) happy for Crew fans. This development is encouraging.
       
      C-bus repped this.
    12. Atomic Fury

      Atomic Fury BigSoccer Supporter

      Apr 30, 2007
      Pennsylvania
      Club:
      Manchester United FC
      Nat'l Team:
      United States

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      Despite my avatar, I'd buy a share if it helped to keep the Crew in Columbus.
       
    13. Aaron d

      Aaron d Member+

      May 15, 2005
      Wooster
      Nat'l Team:
      United States

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      It'd be a fun twist on the "We OWN you" type chants.
       
    14. Grouchy

      Grouchy Member+

      Evil
      Apr 18, 1999
      Canal Winchester
      Club:
      Columbus Crew
      Nat'l Team:
      United States

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      Brewdog wanted to crowdfund the team, so you might get a chance.
       
      stanger repped this.
    15. POdinCowtown

      POdinCowtown Member+

      Jan 15, 2002
      Columbus

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      If the team attracts an offer that is refused, it's likely to be taken to court. The law gives cities and individuals in them the "opportunity" to buy a team contemplating relocation. If it only meant that they could send in an offer, well they could do that anyway. While I'd encourage the General Assembly to flesh out the law, a court construing it is likely to interpret "opportunity" as "right to buy at a fair price", where fairness is determined by the court, as in any number of other business transactions.

      And of course there is a more developed body of eminent domain law in the city's back pocket.
       
      The Franchise repped this.
    16. POdinCowtown

      POdinCowtown Member+

      Jan 15, 2002
      Columbus

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      At the moment, the Columbus Crew are headquartered in Columbus on Black and Gold Blvd (at Mapfre stadium). DeWine sent his letter to PSV to an address in Columbus too. If it turns into an eminent domain case, there is certainly no federal interest. It would be hard for the Crew to move their business operations out of Columbus if they want to sell tickets at the stadium.
       
      The Franchise repped this.
    17. POdinCowtown

      POdinCowtown Member+

      Jan 15, 2002
      Columbus

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      The VIP parking lot is part of the area leased to HSG, now PSV. The preferred and general parking areas are state owned. They were partly paved with a state appropriation in the capital budget a few years back. Crew collect part of the parking revenue from the state owned spaces.

      Additionally, the team has a below market lease on the ground and pays no property tax for the improvements they've made (and I believe got a sales tax break on the cost of materials when building the stadium).
       
      MM66 repped this.
    18. POdinCowtown

      POdinCowtown Member+

      Jan 15, 2002
      Columbus

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      As long as the team is playing their home games in Columbus, there's probably a sufficient nexus to keep the case in state court. The fact that Precourt and Garber live elsewhere is irrelevant. They aren't being sued personally, it's their property in Ohio that is being sued. The Crew have been charging people to park on non-leased state land since 1999. That's certainly public support for the team in addition to the lease terms for the stadium. When I bought my parking passes and tickets, they were sold by the same person in the same team office. So the legal distinction between the team and the stadium may not matter too much.
       
      Aaron d and The Franchise repped this.
    19. The Franchise

      The Franchise Member+

      Nov 13, 2014
      Bakersfield, CA
      Club:
      Real Salt Lake
      Nat'l Team:
      United States

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      Regardless of how the relationship between MLS and the Columbus Crew is characterized, it's clear that the operations of the franchise have been centered in Columbus, Ohio for over two decades. Interest in league office actions is solely with respect to the Crew. It would be difficult to argue the case should be handled anywhere but Ohio.
       
    20. stanger

      stanger BigSoccer Supporter

      Nov 29, 2008
      Columbus
      Club:
      Columbus Crew
      Nat'l Team:
      United States

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      All the land is 100% state fairgrounds property. PSV is leasing the land well below the going rate, that is the trigger for the law. PSV does get a portion of the parking fee, which they upped this year to $15 from $10, which was just one more thing they did to try to depress attendance. The playoff parking was $20.

      All of Garber's statements are lies. We just have a soccer media that is afraid to push, really push, for fear of losing access. All the proof is on the savethecrew.com site. It's all pretty unrefutable.
       
    21. Bill Archer

      Bill Archer BigSoccer Supporter

      Mar 19, 2002
      Washington, NC
      Club:
      Columbus Crew
      Nat'l Team:
      United States
      #71 Bill Archer, Dec 9, 2017
      Last edited: Dec 9, 2017

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      Well put. I would only add that Precourt Sports Ventures has no other offices. The ostensible President, Dave "Wormtongue" Greeley, works out of his home in Chicago. Reportedly, he rents one of those Regus office deals when he needs to have a meeting with somebody, but that's the extent of it.

      Precourt Sports Ventures lists a business address in San Francisco which turns out to also be a so-called "virtual office" kind of deal, in this case 100 square feet worth of space (ie. a 10 x 10 closet) which "includes use of 1,500-2,000 sf of common areas including receptionist area, business lounge, client lobby, and kitchen - All plans include receptionist service, mail service, utilities, and internet. - No insurance or credit check required."

      The facility points out that this is an actual "closing door" office. Terms are available for as little as 1-2 days actual physical occupancy per month.

      This is a mail drop, nothing more.

      So 1 Black & Gold Blvd., Columbus OH is not only their mailing address, it's his only business location, complete with a staff of 90 in the office and, lest we forget, 30-35 players plus coaches.

      I wonder if any other MLS owners have cheezy virtual offices they share with 20 other guys.

      And since it's thier property in Ohio which they want to remove, I can't see any judge being convinced that because PSV has what amounts to a mailbox in California that therefore the case belongs out there.
       
    22. American Brummie

      Jun 19, 2009
      There Be Dragons Here
      Club:
      Birmingham City FC
      Nat'l Team:
      United States

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      I know Bill and others have already mentioned it, but this case going to trial would probably implode the league. Financial information could be kept under wraps by a court order for a while, but eventually someone would FOIA all the dirty laundry. Anyone here willing to claim no owner bribed anyone else to get an expansion team, or a Designated Player? I'm not.
       
    23. HerthaBerwyn

      HerthaBerwyn Member+

      May 24, 2003
      Chicago

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      If they really want more teams and fewer in the smaller 1.0 markets they can use this as a push for a multi division league...Yes. Pro-Rel!
       
    24. joe

      joe Member+

      Jul 12, 1999
      Nat'l Team:
      United States

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      Garber has been great for the League. Happy to can the prick now though.
       
      Cavan9, The Franchise and Adrian repped this.
    25. Professor B

      Professor B Member

      Oct 13, 2000
      Grundy, VA

      Columbus Drops the Bomb on MLS, and Don's Dirty Hands

      By Bill Archer on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12 AM
      I don’t think anyone is arguing it would be heard anywhere but in Ohio. They are questioning whether MLS/PSV would be able to remove the case from an Ohio state court (elected judge) to a federal court in Ohio (not an elected judge) based on diversity jurisdiction. (Though it seems unlikely...)
       

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