Court hits Michigan athletic association with $7 million in legal fees
The other shoe has dropped in the Communities for Equity (CFE) lawsuit against the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA). Now the question is: How will the MHSAA pay for it? U.S. District Judge Richard Enslen—who ruled against the MHSAA and changed the seasons in which six sports are played—ruled against the MHSAA again Monday when he ordered the athletic association to pay legal fees of $4.56 million, plus interest. Enslen began his opinion by writing: “When the game is complete, the loser should not complain about the rules.” He also ordered that the fees include pre-judgment interest, which will run the bill to more than $7 million. The suit was filed in June 1998. "I'm glad the judge understood how difficult a case it was and how time-consuming it was," said Kristen Galles, an attorney in Alexandria, Va., who was the CFE's lead counsel and who will receive the majority of the money. “I've been working on this since '95 with no pay whatsoever. We had to present meticulous records of what everything cost and how much time we spent on it. I think he applied the law and looked at it fairly.”
The MHSAA, a nonprofit organization that sanctions postseason tournaments in 28 sports with more than 300,000 athletes, does not charge schools dues or entry fees. More than a year ago, its executive director, Jack Roberts, told the Free Press that the MHSAA had purchased two insurance policies to cover court costs, but those were mostly exhausted through the appeal process. The Associated Press reported that the MHSAA had a net worth of nearly $6 million, half in investments and half in real estate, according to its most recent tax return for the fiscal year ending July 2006. The judge's ruling isn't expected to bankrupt the MHSAA but to force it to secure loans to cover the amount.
Enslen's ruling came one year to the day after the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would not hear the MHSAA's appeal, ending its legal options. CFE sought to change the seasons in which some girls sports—notably volleyball and basketball—were held. Michigan was the only state in which girls basketball was played in the fall and volleyball in the winter, opposite of when they are played in college. CFE contended that girls were discriminated against because their opportunities for college scholarships were hurt because some sports were held in disadvantaged seasons. Enslen ruled for CFE in December 2001. After the Supreme Court decided not to hear the appeal, the MHSAA changed the seasons for six sports, beginning last fall.
Source: Detroit Free Press, 4/2/08, By Mick McCabe
[Editor’s Note: The court’s opinion is below. After the U.S. Supreme Court remanded the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (KY, MI, OH, TN) in 2006, that court, in a ruling summarized at the second link, upheld the district court’s prior ruling in favor of CFE.]
CFE v. MHSAA, No. 1:98-CV-479 (W.D. Mich. Mar. 31, 2008)
NSBA School Law pages on CFE v. MHSAA