Apparently, Clemson is girding for a protracted battle with the Atlantic Coast Conference asking permission from the South Carolina Attorney General to spend $1 million over the next 12 months to fight the conference.
The State has reported that the university has received authorization from the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office to pay four law firms up to $975,000 through June 30, 2025, as the school challenges the ACC’s grant of rights and conference exit fees in court, according to documents obtained by The State on Monday.
The authorizations come as the university and the conference gear up for what’s presumed to be a lengthy court dispute in the dueling lawsuits Clemson vs. ACC, which is playing out in South Carolina, and ACC vs. Clemson, which is playing out in North Carolina.
Both cases in the Clemson-ACC legal dispute remain active, and one is on hold pending an appeal to a state supreme court that could take 12 to 18 months.
The week before Clemson filed its lawsuit against the ACC, the school had been authorized in mid-March to pay three law firms up to $475,000 combined over the first four months of its legal dispute from March 1 to June 30.
Citing “very complex litigation of significant value,” Clemson requested in early May a second, separate authorization to pay four law firms up to $975,000 combined from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. That amounts to one fiscal year, which is the maximum amount of time that can be approved at once for outside counsel.
Clemson, however, is not using any state money for the lawsuit.
Clemson asks permission to spend $1 million in legal fight
The State has reported that the university has received authorization from the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office to pay four law firms up to $975,000 through June 30, 2025, as the school challenges the ACC’s grant of rights and conference exit fees in court, according to documents obtained by The State on Monday.
The authorizations come as the university and the conference gear up for what’s presumed to be a lengthy court dispute in the dueling lawsuits Clemson vs. ACC, which is playing out in South Carolina, and ACC vs. Clemson, which is playing out in North Carolina.
Both cases in the Clemson-ACC legal dispute remain active, and one is on hold pending an appeal to a state supreme court that could take 12 to 18 months.
The week before Clemson filed its lawsuit against the ACC, the school had been authorized in mid-March to pay three law firms up to $475,000 combined over the first four months of its legal dispute from March 1 to June 30.
Citing “very complex litigation of significant value,” Clemson requested in early May a second, separate authorization to pay four law firms up to $975,000 combined from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. That amounts to one fiscal year, which is the maximum amount of time that can be approved at once for outside counsel.
Clemson, however, is not using any state money for the lawsuit.
Clemson asks permission to spend $1 million in legal fight
