Judge agrees: Duke football as bad as it gets

**Brian McCat** · 06-19-2008, 10:24 PM

A Franklin, Ky., Circuit Court judge sided with a devilishly clever argument and ruled in favor of Duke University yesterday in a breach of contract lawsuit brought forth by the University of Louisville.

Judge Phillip J. Shepherd agreed with Duke’s lawyers — the football team is so bad that any replacement would do.

U of L sued Duke for $450,000 — or a series with another Atlantic Coast Conference opponent — after the Blue Devils backed out of a four-game football contract with three dates remaining.

The contract called for a penalty of $150,000 per game if a date with a “team of similar stature” could not be arranged.

Duke’s lawyers argued the Blue Devils, which have a record of 6-45 over the past five seasons, were so bad that any team would be a suitable replacement.

Judge Shepherd agreed in his summary:

“At oral argument, Duke (with a candor perhaps more attributable to good legal strategy than to institutional modesty) persuasively asserted that this is a threshold that could not be any lower. Duke’s argument on this point cannot be reasonably disputed by Louisville.”

Kentucky courts interpret contract terms “according to their plain and ordinary meaning” barring any ambiguity. According to Shepherd, finding a suitable replacement literally meant any NCAA Division I team would suffice – including those in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-AA.)

After the teams played their initial game in 2002, a 40-3 U of L victory in Durham, N.C., Duke opted out of the remaining games in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Thanks in part to Duke’s cancellation, the Cards scrambled to find a 12th game for the upcoming season before signing an agreement with Memphis in February. U of L will play at Memphis on Oct. 10 and the Tigers are scheduled to play at U of L in 2010.

“We’re disappointed with the ruling,” said U of L spokesman Kenny Klein. “We will take our time to review the decision and explore our future options.”

Judge agrees: Duke football as bad as it gets | courier-journal | The Courier-Journal

The Dude · 06-19-2008, 11:16 PM

Ha, ha, great find.

hmanvolfan · 06-19-2008, 11:51 PM

So, what they're saying is that Duke is so pathetic any team would be deemed as an equal substitute and Memphis fits the bill?

Chemvol · 06-20-2008, 01:34 AM

QFT Thanks, Brian.

ukvols · 06-20-2008, 03:31 AM

That's great stuff.

**Brian McCat** · 06-20-2008, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hmanvolfan

So, what they're saying is that Duke is so pathetic any team would be deemed as an equal substitute and Memphis fits the bill?

Hammer, meet nail.

I bet that Coach Cut would be glad to face Louisville now that they're struggling. Coach Krapplethorpe will be outta there if they don't win 9 or more this year.