CHARLOTTE, N.C. – NASCAR has requested a federal court settlement conference for an independent judge to mediate in the antitrust lawsuit filed by 23XI Racing, owned by Michael Jordan, and Front Row Motorsports.The two teams responded in their own presentations on Monday night, expressing their desire 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 about this case and meeting with the parties,” 23XI and Front Row said in their presentation. “Therefore, 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 and Front Row
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”.The teams also argue that “starting over” with a new mediator is “less likely, not more likely, to lead to a resolution”.The opposing motions come as NASCAR seeks summary judgment to dismiss the case before the trial scheduled for December 1. The hearing on that motion is scheduled for October 21.The issue at hand is the protection of the franchise system that is at the heart of NASCAR’s business model and the central point of the legal battle. The franchise system is NASCAR’s version of a franchise model. A franchise guarantees owners starting grid positions, a basic 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 top-tier NASCAR teams last week filed statements seeking 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,” NASCAR wrote.Both parties 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.“It seems that NASCAR is not happy with the diagnosis and wants to seek a second opinion.”
23XI and Front Row
“I hope to go all the way. If I have to fight to the end, for the benefit 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 ruled out that option.”
Michael Jordan
