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Sprint Cup
CUP: Mayfields Lawsuit Against NASCAR Stays In Federal Court
A judge has made another ruling in the Jeremy Mayfield case...
Jeremy Mayfield has denied using methamphetamines and contends the drug-test findings that prompted his suspension by NASCAR were the result of prescription medication. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Jeremy Mayfield’s lawsuit against NASCAR will remain in federal court, U.S. District Judge Graham Mullen ruled Tuesday.
The case, stemming from a drug test last May that NASCAR says was a positive for methamphetamine but Mayfield says was a mix of over-the-counter and prescription medication, has been at a virtual standstill since January in order to resolve jurisdictional issues stemming from whether NASCAR Chairman Brian France's legal residence is Florida or North Carolina.
“Mr. France establishes, by a preponderance of the evidence, that when the action was filed, his domicile was Florida,” Mullen wrote in his decision.
Now that Mullen has ruled that he has jurisdiction in the case, he can now make decisions on disputes over discovery issues as well as a NASCAR motion to decide the case based on pleadings without any additional discovery. A trial in the case would not begin until Sept. 13 at the earliest.
The original lawsuit was filed in North Carolina state courts in May but was moved to federal courts at the request of NASCAR the day before a preliminary injunction hearing in state court. In that request, France said that while he owns a home in North Carolina, he considers his home in Florida his primary residence. Four days earlier, in a claim filed in North Carolina Superior Court involving his former in-laws who were living in a house he owns in North Carolina, France said he was a citizen of both Florida and North Carolina but doesn’t indicate which is his primary residence.
Mayfield claimed in court documents that France can’t consider himself a resident of North Carolina for that case to be heard in state court and then not be a resident of North Carolina in order to have the Mayfield case heard in federal court. One of the impacts of moving the case to federal court was that the preliminary injunction hearing was delayed by a month.
“The Court finds that Mr. France made an honest mistake in signing the state court filing in which he claimed to be a citizen of Florida and North Carolina,” Mullen wrote in his decision. “The error might portray carelessness on the part of Mr. France and his lawyer, but it does not eviscerate Mr. France’s credibility.”
A state court can have jurisdiction in claims where both a plaintiff and a defendant are from the same state. If Mullen had concluded that France’s domicile was North Carolina, he could have ordered the case to be returned to state court.
France, who was deposed on the issue by Mayfield attorney Mark Geragos in front of the judge Feb. 4, submitted a copy of his Florida driver’s license, two Florida vehicle registrations, a copy of his voting record in Florida and a copy of his 2008 federal tax return in an effort to prove his primary state citizenship was in Florida.
SceneDaily.com•Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway has 47 entries
The NASCAR Hall of Fame Grand Opening is set for May 11, 2010. Outdoor Opening Ceremonies are May 11th from 9 to 10 am ET free of charge, open to the public. Outdoor festivities including driver appearances and concerts May 11th from 10 am until 8 pm ET open to the public, free of charge. Tickets to enter the NASCAR Hall of Fame are on sale now at www.NASCARHall.com or by calling 877-231-2010. The countdown to the NASCAR Hall of Fame is on! Visit www.NASCARHall.com/50days for daily updates about the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
The case, stemming from a drug test last May that NASCAR says was a positive for methamphetamine but Mayfield says was a mix of over-the-counter and prescription medication, has been at a virtual standstill since January in order to resolve jurisdictional issues stemming from whether NASCAR Chairman Brian France's legal residence is Florida or North Carolina.
“Mr. France establishes, by a preponderance of the evidence, that when the action was filed, his domicile was Florida,” Mullen wrote in his decision.
Now that Mullen has ruled that he has jurisdiction in the case, he can now make decisions on disputes over discovery issues as well as a NASCAR motion to decide the case based on pleadings without any additional discovery. A trial in the case would not begin until Sept. 13 at the earliest.
The original lawsuit was filed in North Carolina state courts in May but was moved to federal courts at the request of NASCAR the day before a preliminary injunction hearing in state court. In that request, France said that while he owns a home in North Carolina, he considers his home in Florida his primary residence. Four days earlier, in a claim filed in North Carolina Superior Court involving his former in-laws who were living in a house he owns in North Carolina, France said he was a citizen of both Florida and North Carolina but doesn’t indicate which is his primary residence.
Mayfield claimed in court documents that France can’t consider himself a resident of North Carolina for that case to be heard in state court and then not be a resident of North Carolina in order to have the Mayfield case heard in federal court. One of the impacts of moving the case to federal court was that the preliminary injunction hearing was delayed by a month.
“The Court finds that Mr. France made an honest mistake in signing the state court filing in which he claimed to be a citizen of Florida and North Carolina,” Mullen wrote in his decision. “The error might portray carelessness on the part of Mr. France and his lawyer, but it does not eviscerate Mr. France’s credibility.”
A state court can have jurisdiction in claims where both a plaintiff and a defendant are from the same state. If Mullen had concluded that France’s domicile was North Carolina, he could have ordered the case to be returned to state court.
France, who was deposed on the issue by Mayfield attorney Mark Geragos in front of the judge Feb. 4, submitted a copy of his Florida driver’s license, two Florida vehicle registrations, a copy of his voting record in Florida and a copy of his 2008 federal tax return in an effort to prove his primary state citizenship was in Florida.
SceneDaily.com•Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway has 47 entries
The NASCAR Hall of Fame Grand Opening is set for May 11, 2010. Outdoor Opening Ceremonies are May 11th from 9 to 10 am ET free of charge, open to the public. Outdoor festivities including driver appearances and concerts May 11th from 10 am until 8 pm ET open to the public, free of charge. Tickets to enter the NASCAR Hall of Fame are on sale now at www.NASCARHall.com or by calling 877-231-2010. The countdown to the NASCAR Hall of Fame is on! Visit www.NASCARHall.com/50days for daily updates about the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
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