Courier-Journal writer Tim Sullivan contacted me regarding the contract dispute between U of L and its now-former athletic director, Tom Jurich. I'm quoted in Mr. Sullivan's article in today's paper, Louisville Better Have Facts To Back It Up in Fight Against Tom Jurich. My assessment is that Mr. Jurich is on pretty solid ground.
This is a contract law issue, not whether Mr. Jurich should have been fired or deserved to be fired or anything like that. If Mr. Jurich's firing can be substantiated as "for cause," as defined in his employment contract, U of L's financial obligations to him are very limited. If not, U of L can be liable for paying him off for the rest of his contract, which is quite a sum and for quite a while.
The employment contract has a very specific and limited definition of the circumstances in which Mr. Jurich's firing can be established as "for cause." I don't read U of L's complaints toward him as coming near meeting the "for cause" standard as it is defined in Mr. Jurich's contract. So Mr. Jurich appears on pretty solid ground.
Lexington, Kentucky employment lawyer Robert Abell represents individuals and employees in employment law cases throughout Kentucky; contact him at 859-254-7076.
P.S. - U of L later agreed to pay Mr. Jurich some $7 million + various other benefits to settle his contract claims; he was on very solid ground.
