The nastiness emanating from a lawsuit against Michigan State and former head coach Mark Dantonio could wind up leading to its dismissal.
In a filing obtained by The Detroit News, a federal judge in the state has formally recommended that Curtis Blackwell’s case against MSU and various parties be tossed. At the heart of that decision? The lawyers for Blackwell have “repeatedly misused court process” to harass the defendants like Dantonio.
Per the News:A federal judge is expected to rule on the recommendations in the coming days. Legal experts say almost always, the judge will side with the magistrate.
The judge did not recommend dismissing Blackwell’s wrongful-arrest claims against two MSU Police detectives, but did say Blackwell’s lawyers, Thomas Warnicke and Drew Paterson, should be removed from the case, and that Paterson’s conduct constitutes a hearing before a U.S. district judge to determine if Paterson should be disciplined.
Blackwell was the Spartans’ recruiting coordinator for nearly four years before being fired in 2017. He claimed in the lawsuit that his termination was the result of being scapegoated for an alleged sexual assault allegation involving a trio of football players. School officials cited Blackwell for failing to disclose information he knew about the incident.
The lawsuit since has generated plenty more headlines. This has included allegations of NCAA violations by Dantonio and claims the school videotaped the practices of a future opponent.
The former Michigan State head coach has pushed back against all the accusations and said they had nothing to do with his decision to step down just before National Signing Day last month.
It seems the judge in question is not too fond of Blackwell’s attorneys being public with so many parts of the case, which only recently moved past deposing officials like Dantonio. There is also another lawsuit against Michigan State and others, filed in state court, that is ongoing as well.
We’ll see what ends up happening over the coming days but it seems that attempting to try the case in the court of public opinion may have backfired a bit for Blackwell and company in recent months.
