Jerry Moyes and his lawyers won the first round in the NHL's lawsuit against him but they are still waiting to hear if their request for a dismissal will be granted.
That request will apparently now be heard by a federal court back in Arizona now that a federal judge booted the lawsuit out of the U.S. District Court in New York.
U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel ordered that the case be heard by the U.S. District Court in Arizona because "the convenience of witnesses, the likely location of relevant documents … the convenience of parties … and the availability of witnesses associated with the bankruptcy proceedings all favour transfer."
There is even a chance the lawsuit could wind up in front of Judge Redfield T. Baum, the man who awarded the Coyotes to the NHL last October in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court auction after the judge rejected BlackBerry billionaire Jim Balsillie's attempt to buy the team.
The NHL opposed the move and wanted the lawsuit heard in a New York federal court in the same city as its headquarters. But Judge Castel ruled "the prejudice to the NHL in having the case heard in the District of Arizona is slight."
The lawsuit is seeking $61-million (all currency U.S.) from Moyes, the former owner of the Coyotes, in an attempt by the league to recover part of what it has spend propping up the financially moribund team. That includes $20-million the league says it paid to cover the Coyotes' losses in the 2009-10 season plus money to cover the $10-million the league says it spent fighting Moyes' attempt to use the bankruptcy court to force a sale to Balsillie.
On top of that, the NHL says it may try to collect $8-million on behalf of Wayne Gretzky if the bankruptcy court rules the Coyotes owe that to their former part-owner and coach in unpaid salary. That would bring the total damages sought from Moyes to almost $70-million.
Moyes's lawyers filed a request for dismissal with the New York court, arguing that the sale of the Coyotes was settled by the bankruptcy court and no further claims by the NHL against Moyes should be allowed. Even if they were, the lawyers argued, such claims should be heard in Arizona where the original case was handled.
One interesting note in Judge Castel's order to send the lawsuit to Arizona was that "if the [NHL's]claim is neither related to the bankruptcy proceedings nor pre-empted by federal bankruptcy law, then the case will be remanded to state court in New York. If and to the extent the present action is, indeed, related to the bankruptcy proceedings, then the convenience of the parties and witnesses will be greatly served by the transfer."
That would indicate at least one federal judge thinks there is at least a link between the bankruptcy court decision and the lawsuit, which could favour Moyes's argument for dismissal. But at this point, says Peter Sorenson, one of Moyes's lawyers, it is too early to draw any conclusions, including whether or not Judge Baum will once again be asked to referee a dispute between Moyes and the NHL.
"It could still end up back in front of Judge Baum but I don't know that at this point," Sorenson said.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly did not immediately respond to a request for comment.