NASCAR Seeks to Mediate Legal Dispute with 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports
NASCAR has requested a settlement conference from a federal court in relation to the antitrust lawsuit filed by 23XI Racing, owned by Michael Jordan, and Front Row Motorsports. The request seeks an independent judge to mediate the legal dispute. In response, the 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports teams expressed their desire to continue working with mediator Jeffrey Mishkin, former Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the NBA, who has been negotiating between the parties during this year.The teams argued that Mishkin “has significant experience in complex antitrust disputes related to sports and has acted as an arbitrator or mediator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the America’s Cup, FIFA, and the NFL, among others”. Furthermore, the teams maintain that “starting over” with a new mediator is “less likely, not more likely, to lead to a resolution”. These motions are presented as NASCAR seeks a summary judgment to dismiss the case before the start of the trial scheduled for December 1. The hearing on that motion is scheduled for October 21. The central point of the dispute is the protection of the franchise system that underpins NASCAR’s business model and is the main focus of the legal battle. This system guarantees team owners positions in the competition and a base amount of income each year, generating, according to NASCAR, more than $1.5 billion in equity value for its teams since 2016. A year ago, 13 of the 15 teams re-signed, believing that more than two years of negotiations would not lead to a better deal. 23XI, co-owned by Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by businessman Bob Jenkins, chose to go to court. For months, the other 13 teams have privately complained that the lawsuit is creating uncertainty about the future of NASCAR. Mishkin has made no progress toward an agreement and NASCAR now wants a federal judge, other than U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell, who is presiding over the case, to hear both sides and advise on a resolution. Last week, most of NASCAR’s top teams filed statements calling for an agreement and the protection of the franchise system, something NASCAR highlighted in its presentation Monday night to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. “The willingness of the parties to resolve this matter, along with the interests of others in the sport and of the Tribunal to see this case resolved, suggest that a judicial conciliation conference would be a meaningful way to facilitate a settlement,” NASCAR wrote. Both parties have shown their willingness to dialogue, but no progress has been made. Through a judicial conciliation conference, NASCAR hopes to bring in a judge who can help direct the conversations and offer insights into how a jury might interpret NASCAR’s complex antitrust case. The court must approve NASCAR’s request. All parties have stated they are open to an agreement, including Jordan, who also added after a hearing in August that he was willing to go to trial if necessary. “I hope to go all the way. If I have to fight to the end, for the sake of the sport, I will,” he said outside the federal court. “We have always been open to a settlement. We always have been. We have never taken that off the table.”“Mr. Mishkin has invested a great deal of time in learning about this case and meeting with the parties,” 23XI and Front Row stated in their presentation. “The plaintiffs have requested that NASCAR continue to interact with them through Mr. Mishkin or make a settlement offer directly to the plaintiffs’ attorney, but NASCAR has not responded to those requests and, instead, filed this motion.
23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports
