[winflop]

I haven't read any of the documents from this case so this post, like most of this thread, is largely speculative.  A few things caught my attention. 

The first thing is the timing of all of this.  Dawkins was fired on March 14, 2016.  I don't know how long it took to finalize the 2.3 million release of all claims but it seems likely it was done pretty quickly.  In that case, the payment would probably have been due by at least last summer.  Dawkins was hired by UCF on March 22, 2016, just over a week after he was fired.  Based on that date, both parties probably knew the extent to which the 2.3 million could have been offset by Dawkins' new salary.  It is possible Dawkins and Stanford spent nearly a year trying to resolve this issue without litigation, but the difference in their interpretation or understanding of the deal should have been evident fairly quickly.  It makes me wonder why it took this long to get lawyers involved. 

The other thing that jumps out to me is the claim for 5 million in tort/punitive damages.  I'm an attorney so I understand and am not offended by positional bargaining and litigation.  However, there are a lot of lawyers out there with a lot of different styles and the best I have known and faced don't make those kind of claims.  Dawkins also didn't seem like the type of personality to hire a scorched earth lawyer.  It raises some red flags for me but I don't have enough information to know if this should raise doubts about the claim itself, about the advice Dawkins is getting, or about whether Stanford is trying to rip Dawkins off. 

The documents should be revealed soon so we will be able to form better opinions after that.  Until then, anything stated and put out by either side should be viewed with distrust and doubt.  Just my two cents.

Cheers,
Pete F.

I'm thinking discussions were put on hold for the MBB season, postseason, and recruiting season and just resumed after LOIs were signed. Dawkins may not have wanted any distractions during that last 6-7 months.

[winflop]

I haven't read any of the documents from this case so this post, like most of this thread, is largely speculative.  A few things caught my attention. 

The first thing is the timing of all of this.  Dawkins was fired on March 14, 2016.  I don't know how long it took to finalize the 2.3 million release of all claims but it seems likely it was done pretty quickly.  In that case, the payment would probably have been due by at least last summer.  Dawkins was hired by UCF on March 22, 2016, just over a week after he was fired.  Based on that date, both parties probably knew the extent to which the 2.3 million could have been offset by Dawkins' new salary.  It is possible Dawkins and Stanford spent nearly a year trying to resolve this issue without litigation, but the difference in their interpretation or understanding of the deal should have been evident fairly quickly.  It makes me wonder why it took this long to get lawyers involved. 

The other thing that jumps out to me is the claim for 5 million in tort/punitive damages.  I'm an attorney so I understand and am not offended by positional bargaining and litigation.  However, there are a lot of lawyers out there with a lot of different styles and the best I have known and faced don't make those kind of claims.  Dawkins also didn't seem like the type of personality to hire a scorched earth lawyer.  It raises some red flags for me but I don't have enough information to know if this should raise doubts about the claim itself, about the advice Dawkins is getting, or about whether Stanford is trying to rip Dawkins off. 

The documents should be revealed soon so we will be able to form better opinions after that.  Until then, anything stated and put out by either side should be viewed with distrust and doubt.  Just my two cents.

Cheers,
Pete F.

I'm thinking discussions were put on hold for the MBB season, postseason, and recruiting season and just resumed after LOIs were signed. Dawkins may not have wanted any distractions during that last 6-7 months.