The defamation suit filed against Syracuse University and men's head basketball coach Jim Boeheim will now be moved to Syracuse.
State Supreme Court Justice Brian DeJoseph made the ruling Wednesday after hearing arguments Tuesday morning from Mary Beth Hogan, representing SU, and Mariann Meier Wang and Julie Ehrlich, representing former ball boys Bobby Davis and Mike Lang.
The ruling stated that Davis and Lang's attorneys failed to show a fair trial could not be held in Onondaga County and that potential jurors would be affected financially by the outcome of the case, according to court papers.
Gloria Allred, the high-profile attorney representing Davis and Lang, said in an email she is prepared to move forward with the case despite the change of venue.
"We remain confident in our case," she said.
Davis and Lang claim Boeheim defamed them when he publicly accused the stepbrothers of lying about Bernie Fine, former associate men's basketball coach, molesting them. Boeheim later apologized for these comments.
The defamation suit was originally set to take place in New York City. Davis and Lang's attorneys believed their clients would not be able to receive an impartial trial in Onondaga County due to the financial influence of Syracuse's basketball team.
DeJoseph conceded that Boeheim is indeed a prominent figure in Central New York as head coach of SU's basketball team for more than 30 years. In his ruling, he wrote Boeheim often appears in local commercials for a variety of Syracuse businesses. He wrote that there is no dispute the Syracuse basketball program has had great success under Boeheim, including the current season in which the team is ranked No. 2 in the nation.
Regardless, even if a party to an action holds some prominence or an official position in the county, an impartial trial can still be held in that county, he wrote.
Wang further argued that finding a pool of impartial jurors would be difficult because the basketball team brings in $19.5 million in revenue for the city. Each time the basketball team wins, more revenue floods in through clothing sales, hotel bookings and restaurants. The university is the second-largest employer in Syracuse, Wang said in an article published by The Daily Orange on Tuesday.
But in his ruling, DeJoseph wrote that nearly half a million people live in Onondaga County and about 350,000 of them could serve on a jury. Only 6,500 of those potential jury members are employed by the university.
"A change of venue requires a showing of facts which demonstrate a ‘strong possibility' that an impartial trial cannot be obtained in the proper county," he wrote. "A ‘mere belief, suspicion, or feeling' is insufficient to demonstrate the requisite ‘strong possibility.'"
Lawyers representing SU and Boeheim believed the case should be moved to Central New York because none of the principle parties involved in the case live downstate. Davis and both defendants reside in Onondaga County.
Though the plaintiffs' arguments for change of venue were "well-crafted and certainly worth review from this Court," DeJoseph concluded they were insufficient to retain venue in New York County.
"The plaintiffs here have failed to demonstrate that any potential juror has a legitimate direct economic or pecuniary stake in the outcome of this legislation," he wrote.
Boeheim, Davis and Lang did not attend the hearing Tuesday.
Fine, who was fired from the university Nov. 27, has denied all sexual abuse allegations and has not been charged.
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