NASCAR has requested a federal court for a conciliation judicial conference to mediate the antitrust lawsuit filed by 23XI Racing, owned by Michael Jordan, and Front Row Motorsports. The teams responded on Monday night, arguing that they want to continue working with mediator Jeffrey Mishkin, former executive vice president and general counsel of the NBA, who has been negotiating between both parties this year. “Mr. Mishkin has invested a great deal of time in learning this case and meeting with the parties. Plaintiffs have requested that NASCAR continue to interact with them through Mr. Mishkin or make a settlement offer directly to the plaintiffs’ counsel, but NASCAR has not responded to those requests and, instead, filed this motion.” The teams argued that Mishkin “has extensive experience in complex antitrust disputes related to sports and has acted as an arbitrator or mediator for the International Court of Arbitration for Sport, the America’s Cup, FIFA and the NFL, among others”. They also argued that “starting over” with a new mediator is “less likely, not more likely, to lead to a resolution”. These opposing motions come as NASCAR seeks a summary judgment to dismiss the case before the trial begins, scheduled for December 1. The hearing on that motion is scheduled for October 21. At issue is the protection of the franchise system, which is the core of NASCAR’s business model and the central point of the legal battle. This system is NASCAR’s version of a franchise model. A franchise guarantees owners positions on the field, a base amount of income each year and, according to NASCAR, has created more than $1.5 billion in equity value for its teams since 2016. A year ago, 13 of the 15 teams re-signed when they believed 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, went to court instead. 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 a settlement and NASCAR now wants a federal judge, other than U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell, who is presiding over the case, to hear from both sides and advise on a resolution.
Most of NASCAR’s top teams last week filed statements calling for an agreement and protection of the franchise system, which NASCAR noted in its filing Monday night with 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 the Tribunal to see this case resolved, suggest that a judicial conciliation conference would be a meaningful way to facilitate a settlement,” wrote NASCAR.
NASCARBoth sides have shown their willingness to talk, 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 said they are open to an agreement, including Jordan, who also added after a hearing in August that he was willing to take it to trial if necessary.“I hope to go with the fire. If I have to fight this until the end, for the betterment of the sport, I will. We have always been open to an agreement. We always have been. We have never taken that off the table,” he said outside the federal court.
Michael Jordan
