Pac-12 legal fight: Court grants emergency stay, board biz frozen

The Washington Supreme Court on Tuesday granted an emergency stay in the Pac-12’s ongoing legal fight that further delays attempts by Washington State and Oregon State to take control of the conference’s governing board.

But the ruling was issued by the Supreme Court’s commissioner, not the court’s justices. As a result, WSU and OSU plan to appeal directly to the judges and request that they remove the stay to allow a critical preliminary injunction to take effect.

That injunction, granted last month by a lower court, gave WSU and OSU control of the Pac-12 board and the financial assets that are vital to the schools left behind in the realignment game.

The court commissioner’s ruling also set Dec. 12 as the deadline for all motions in the case. At that point, or soon thereafter, the Supreme Court judges will decide whether to take the case for review or send it to an appellate court.

In other words, a barrage of motions and stays are unfolding before the plaintiffs (the remaining ‘Pac-2’ schools) and the defendants (the outbound ‘Pac-10’ schools) even know if the high court will consider overturning the preliminary injunction.

The defendants issued the following statement Tuesday after the ruling:

“We are pleased that the Washington Supreme Court has put on hold the preliminary injunction that would have given OSU and WSU sole control of the Pac-12 Conference. The decision effectively ensures that all 12 current members will have an equal voice in determining how the revenue our schools earned this year is distributed and utilized while the Court considers our arguments ...

“The combined earnings of 12 schools during the 2023-2024 academic year should not be unilaterally governed by just two institutions while we all remain members of the Conference.”

Naturally, Cougars and Beavers were less than thrilled with the development:

“We are disappointed in the Washington Supreme Court Commissioner’s decision to temporarily allow the departing schools to have veto power over Pac-12 board matters while they appeal the superior court’s well-reasoned decision to grant Oregon State’s and Washington State’s request to govern as the Pac-12’s sole remaining members ...

“The lawsuit is still pending, and this motion was for temporary relief pending appeal. OSU and WSU will be seeking court review of the Commissioner’s decision.”

If you’re struggling to follow the developments, here’s a summary:

— In September, WSU and OSU took the conference to court and sought a preliminary injunction that would establish the two schools as the only remaining members of the Pac-12 board.

The presiding judge, Gary Libey of the Whitman County (Washington) Superior Court, imposed a temporary restraining order that brought Pac-12 board business to a halt.

— On Nov. 14, Libey signed the preliminary injunction that declared WSU and OSU the sole members of the board.

The next day, Washington (acting on behalf of the other nine departing schools) filed an emergency motion with the state’s Supreme Court to stay the preliminary injunction.

The commissioner’s ruling Tuesday allows the stay to remain in place — unless the plaintiff’s pending request for the judges to intervene is granted.

Separately, the plaintiffs and defendants have until Dec. 12 to file all motions for the review portion.

What happens at that point is anyone’s guess.

The court could side with the defendants and take the case for review. Or it could rule in favor of the plaintiffs, decline the review and send the case to an appellate court.

The Supreme Court is located in Olympia, an hour from Washington’s campus in Seattle. The appellate court likely would be in Spokane, an hour from WSU’s campus in Pullman.

In the meanwhile, the Pac-12 board can only govern by unanimity, allowing WSU and OSU to block decisions harmful to their cause.

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