Judge dismisses Golloway's lawsuit of AU

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The legal battle between Auburn University and former head baseball coach Sunny Golloway is not over, though a federal judge has most recently ruled in favor of the defendants and dismissed the case.

Previously, the defendants — listed as the Auburn Board of Trustees, Athletic Director Jay Jacobs, former CEO David Benedict, Senior Associate Athletic Director Rich McGlynn, former Director of Baseball Operations Scott Duval and Baseball Administrator Jeremy Roberts — had filed a motion on June 17, 2016, to dismiss a complaint originally filed by Golloway.

That complaint, filed on May 24, 2016, accuses the defendants of breach of contract, defamation, fraud and tortuous interference with Golloway’s contract after his dismissal with cause as Auburn’s head baseball coach on Sept. 27, 2015. Shortly after he was fired, the former coach threatened a lawsuit and called a press conference in November 2015 in Birmingham to address his dismissal from the university.

 

On March 21, United States Magistrate Judge Charles S. Coody recommended that the defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint be granted and that the case be dismissed with prejudice. By dismissing with prejudice, the judge’s ruling means that the case is dismissed permanently.

“The magistrate judge's recommendation verified what we've said from the beginning, which is there is no validity to Coach Golloway's claims,” the university said in a statement provided to the Opelika-Auburn News on Wednesday.

However, Golloway and his legal team met the deadline of April 4 to file an objection, asking for a jury trial against the report and recommendation issued by Coody.

In a letter obtained by the Opelika-Auburn News in early February, the NCAA Office of the Committees on Infractions stated it has no record of Golloway “having past involvement in any Level I/Level II/major NCAA infractions” during his two seasons as the Tigers’ head coach, clearing him of wronging doing.

Two days later, Auburn countered by saying the dismissal of Golloway with cause was accepted by both the SEC and the NCAA.

“The NCAA recently closed its investigation and found four Level III violations," the university said in a statement in February. "Auburn’s dismissal of Coach Golloway and some members of the baseball staff was accepted by the Southeastern Conference and the NCAA, which determined no further action was required. No members of the current baseball staff were associated or involved in those violations, and we look forward to the coming season under Coach Thompson.”

"Coach Golloway knowingly and repeatedly broke Auburn and NCAA rules, including an attempt to destroy evidence of his violations," Auburn officials said in a release to the Opelika-Auburn News after the suit was filed. "We appreciated his coaching skills, but his actions left us no choice but to dismiss him from his position. He now seems to be using legal action in an attempt to divert attention away from his own misconduct."

With the case being dismissed with prejudice, seeking a jury trial against the report and recommendation (R&R) of Coody is the last option for Golloway. In the suit, the plaintiff states:

 

>> The R&R was incorrect in dismissing the plaintiff’s claims against defendant The Board of Trustees of Auburn on the basis of sovereign immunity.

>> The R&R was in error in dismissing the plaintiff’s well-pleaded complaint for defamation.

>> Plaintiff has alleged sufficient facts to establish reasonable reliance on Jacob’s [sic] false promises and as such, dismissal was wrongful and plaintiff should be permitted to provide discovery on this element.

>> Plaintiff has properly pled facts that establish that the individual defendants acted outside of the scope of their authority.

A call to John Saxon, who represents Golloway, was not immediately returned to the Opelika-Auburn News.

 

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