Judge: Paterno family can't suit NCAA, PSU for breach of contract

A Pennsylvania judge ruled Monday that the family of late Penn State coach Joe Paterno cannot sue the NCAA or the university for breach of contract.

Per the Associated Press, the Paterno estate has argued that the NCAA and university violated the rights of the late coach with the way the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal was handled, including signing the 2012 consent decree that stemmed from the Freeh Report which questioned Paterno’s response to allegations made against Sandusky. Sandusky, the longtime PSU defensive assistant, was sentenced in June 2012 and will spend the rest of his life in prison

Judge John Leete dismissed the breach-of-contract claim in the Paterno family’s lawsuit, which had been previously amended.

“Plaintiffs are not amending their complaint to include a new cause of action or even a new theory of an existing cause of action; rather they are attempting to resurrect a claim on which this court already dismissed,” Leete wrote in his decision.

Aside from Leete dismissing the breach-of-contract portion of the lawsuit, the rest of the lawsuit will proceed. However, Leete did turn down a few other requests from the Paternos, who are suing defendants from the NCAA for commercial disparagement.

From the AP:

On Monday, Leete also turned down the Paternos' request to let them make public more of the material they are getting from the NCAA. And he rejected a request from the NCAA that would have required the Paterno estate's lawyers to conduct depositions of some people before they issue subpoenas.

A lawyer representing the NCAA said the organization will “continue to defend vigorously” what remains in the lawsuit.

The NCAA issued a statement that said Leete's decision means the organization did not breach any obligation it owned Paterno, under its rules, when it and Penn State entered into the consent decree.

Former Penn State assistants Bill Kenney and Jay Paterno, Joe’s son, are also plaintiffs in the case. They claim that the NCAA has hindered them from finding NCAA coaching positions since not being retained on PSU’s staff after Paterno’s tenure as head coach came to an end.

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