NASCAR NEWS: Michael Jordan Dispute Headed for Critical….
While firing back at NASCAR’s critiques of him, U.S. District Judge Kenneth D.
Bell has made Monday a crucial day in 23XI Racing’s and Front Row Motorsports’ antitrust case.
Bell has partially granted NASCAR’S motion for an expedited review of its demanded stay of a preliminary injunction.
Unless stayed by Bell or vacated by the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit , the injunction will bar NASCAR from denying 23XI Racing and Front Row the same terms offered to charter teams and prevent NASCAR from requiring 23XI Racing and Front Row release legal claims as charter teams must do.
Bell, who issued the latest order last Friday, wrote that he will rule on the stay on Monday.
23XI Racing, which is owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, and Front Row have until 10:00 a.m. on Monday to file a response to NASCAR’s demanded stay.
Bell denied NASCAR a chance to reply to the plaintiffs’ expected response, which will likely be drafted by lead attorney Jeffrey Kessler.
If Bell grants the stay, the injunction will be tabled until the Fourth Circuit reviews Bell’s reasoning.
The appellate review could take weeks or even months, meaning the stay could last a while.
But if Bell denies the stay, the injunction will remain in place (absent the Fourth Circuit vacating it) and block NASCAR from refusing to approve the teams’ purchase of two Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) charters to let 23XI Racing and Front Row compete.
NASCAR sharply criticized Bell last week, suggesting his “misunderstanding” about how charters work clouded his legal reasoning.
NASCAR also complained it was “never given the opportunity” to offer written briefs regarding charter transfers before Bell adjudicated that topic in his injunction.
As NASCAR tells it, the association has been denied a fair shake due to Bell “procedurally and substantively” erring.
Bell, a former federal prosecutor who President Donald Trump nominated to the bench in 2018, repudiated those criticisms in his order.
He stressed that both sides in this case “passionately hold opposite positions with respect to time sensitive contracts and other business dealings.”
That remark captures the heart of the dispute: 23XI Racing and Front Row contend NASCAR abuses monopoly power to suppress competition and restrain teams’ professional opportunities while NASCAR contends 23XI Racing and Front Row have tried to concoct a flimsy antitrust case out of a regretted business decision to not sign charters like other teams.
