Sooper_Rebel wrote:

Probably cost less than extending it with lawyers. If the law work takes more money than a settlement, companies do a settlement. It's not an admission of guilt but rather a cost saving measure.

Some things are worth the price.  Not giving in to a shakedown is more important to me than lawyer fees (even at 3X the price)....plus it makes us LOOK guilty (and yeah I understand it's not an admission of guilt) but it is basically the equivalent of never paying ransom for a terrorist kidnapping.  All you do is encourage more of the same behavior.

But, I predicted we would cave....it's what we do!

Last edited by Johnny Yuma (10/16/2017 5:45 pm)

SCrebel wrote:

Or we could have done this several months ago and the Freeze scandal wouldn't have been made public (or less likely). Either way, I just want the drama to end and return to normality.

This is normality.

Settling out of court is an admission of guilt of some sort.  Now Ole Miss can only hope that Mutt and his attorney do not take this action of settling out of court and further pursue some other matters, since Ole Miss has admitted to some guilt.  A good defense lawyer would come up with a counter suit, but then again, it seems there are no good lawyers on the Ole Miss staff.

A good investigator would find dirt on Mutt, like his text records to the reporter in Arkansas, and his supposed affair with her.  Another example would be the fact that Saunders committed the entrance exam scoring saga under Houston's watch.  Contact Mitch Mustain's Mother, and there would probably be some really good stories that could be scrutinized. 

Even though settling out of court could reduce the costs of future legal fees, how much money has Ole Miss wasted on mascot searches, image changes, and coaching searches?  The Ole Miss attorneys are on Ole Miss time and need to do their jobs instead of cower and tell all to anyone who opposes them.

Judge dismisses Houston Nutt's lawsuit against Ole Miss

OXFORD - Ole Miss has been granted a motion to dismiss in its lawsuit against Houston Nutt.

The motion was granted Wednesday afternoon by United States District Judge Neal B. Biggers Jr. The athletic foundation and IHL Board of Trustees were also named in the suit.

Nutt filed a lawsuit — citing breach of contract and breach of good faith and fair dealing — on July 12. 

In their motion to dismiss, the university and the IHL argued they weren't citizens, but "arms of the state" which made them immune to suit in federal court.

"In response to the instant motion, the plaintiff concedes that the defendants’ argument is meritorious and asserts 'it is agreed that this court lacks subject matter jurisdiction,'" the order states.

Nutt's representatives, Thomas Mars and Ridgeland-based attorney Walter Morrison, sent a settlement proposal to the university last week, which was rejected.

"Between Bubba (Walter) Morrison saying I'd read too many John Grisham novels and the University's recent decision to fire Hugh Freeze, I concurred with Bubba's suggestion that we just oblige Ole Miss, ask the court to grant their jurisdictional motion and file an updated state court lawsuit next week with more details than those that were known to us when we first filed suit," Mars said in regard to the motion to dismiss.

He continued: "We'd both like to congratulate the Ole Miss lawyers and hope they'll give some more thought to our settlement proposal before we refile in state court next week."

The initial complaint alleged Hugh Freeze, Ross Bjork and Kyle Campbell, Ole Miss' athletic director for communications, led a misinformation campaign against Nutt when the university received its Notice of Allegations in January 2016.

Nutt sought an apology, but Ole Miss was committed to its position that it did not owe him one. 

The settlement proposal sent last week reportedly asked Ole Miss for $500,000 to fund an integrity for college sports commission and an apology to Nutt.

The suit may have been dismissed, but it's already had its impact on the university. Mars' public records request led to the discovery of a phone call placed to an escort service on Freeze's university-issued phone.

That led Ole Miss to investigate Freeze's phone records even further, which resulted in it finding a pattern of personal misconduct by Freeze.

He resigned on July 20 after five seasons, which included a Sugar Bowl win and two victories over Alabama, as the Rebels' coach.

SOURCE: Antonio Morales, The Clarion-Ledger Published 5:01 p.m. ET Aug. 9, 2017 | Updated 8:10 p.m. ET Aug. 9, 2017.  https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/ole-miss/2017/08/09/motion-dismiss-granted-ole-miss-ihl-houston-nutt-lawsuit/551846001/