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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Verdict Thrown Out In MRN Vs. New Hampshire Case
NHMS parent company Speedway Motorsports Inc. won’t have to pay Motor Racing Network a $993,724 contract termination fee...
Bob Pockrass  | http://www.scenedaily.com  |  Posted January 27, 2012   Charlotte, NC
New Hampshire Motor Speedway hosts two annual Sprint Cup events. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
A New Hampshire Superior Court judge has thrown out a verdict that would have required New Hampshire Motor Speedway to pay Motor Racing Network $993,724 as a contract termination fee.

When Speedway Motorsports Inc. bought the New Hampshire track in January 2008, it wanted its Sprint Cup and Nationwide races on its own radio network, Performance Racing Network. But NHIS had a contract with MRN, which is owned by International Speedway Corp., that required a three-year notice of termination.

MRN ended up broadcasting the June 2008 Nationwide and Cup races from the newly named New Hampshire Motor Speedway and then PRN got the Cup race in September 2008 and all Nationwide and Cup events beginning in 2009.

SMI and ISC never could agree on a termination fee, and the case went to trial in September in Merrimack County, N.H. The jury awarded the $993,724 to MRN.

But SMI won’t have to pay as Judge Richard McNamara, who presided over the trial, threw out the verdict in a ruling issued Wednesday.

In his opinion, McNamara wrote that the jury’s award was based on MRN’s projected lost profits from not being able to broadcast the New Hampshire races through 2010. McNamara, who had earlier in the lawsuit ruled that the contract was invalid but MRN could sue based on the general promises made by the track, wrote that in this type of case, expected profits cannot be the basis for damages – the damages are limited to the money actually spent to fulfill the promise.

"We believe in the jury system and in the sanctity of jury verdicts," ISC said in a statement. "In this case, 14 citizens of Merrimack County sat for a week and heard the evidence of the wrongdoings of the defendant.

"Those jurors considered that evidence and found – by clear and convincing proof – that [SMI Chairman] Bruton Smith and SMI, through their control of NHMS, broke a material promise to MRN and that this wrongful conduct caused MRN approximately $1 million in damages."

ISC will appeal the decision to the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

"We respectfully disagree with the decision to take that verdict away from the jury and we look forward to addressing that issue on appeal," ISC said in its statement. "In the meantime, we are appreciative of the jury’s service and the thoughtful verdict they returned. We believe they got it right and we believe the Supreme Court of New Hampshire will agree."

Obviously, SMI doesn't feel that way. A company statement said it was pleased with the "correct decision" made by the judge and that it was confident that any appeal of the decision would be upheld.

"In a thorough and well reasoned 16-page opinion, the court concluded that the issues in the case should never have been presented to a jury because MRN had not presented the evidence required to support its claims," SMI said in a statement. "In fact, the court ruled that the evidence 'is so overwhelmingly in favor of' New Hampshire Motor Speedway that 'no contrary verdict could stand.'

"The opinion relies on established law and is completely consistent with the court’s earlier ruling that there was no valid contract prohibiting New Hampshire Motor Speedway from allowing Performance Racing Network to conduct the radio broadcasts of races held at New Hampshire Motor Speedway."

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