The Tennessee Titans filed a civil lawsuit against USC and its football coach Lane Kiffin arising out of the school’s hiring of Kennedy Pola, the Titans’ running back coach.

They did not include coach Pola in the suit. The question is why.

This is a breach of contract case if pursued against Pola since the filed documents make clear that the assistant coach’s obligations were to notify his employer and obtain written permission to merely enter into discussions with a third party looking to employ him.

The case against the Titans alleges that they maliciously interfered with a contract they knew about including knowledge of the terms. There is case law in the state of Tennessee that allows for such a claim in addition to a state statute.

Money damages are sought including punitive amounts for the malicious nature of what the Titans believe occurred. And therein lies the only reasonable explanation of why Pola has been spared, at least for now.

Deep pockets are needed for cases like this, first for legal fees and then a potential settlement or a jury verdict if it even gets that far. Pola reportedly was paid $400,000 under the terms of his Titans deal, coming in pay checks just like all of us get from time to time.

USC, on the other hand is worth a whole heck of a lot more, as is Kiffin.

Kiffin will surely have to face the wrath of incoming Athletic Director, Pat Haden, who takes office on August 3. He can’t be happy to start his term by having to untangle another mess brought on by remnants of the bad old days at USC.

Lawsuits such as these can be dismissed prior to getting into the nitty-gritty of depositions and exchange of internal documents and communications. It isn’t likely this will be the case in this instance.

The case states the minimum it has to for a smell test and key facts are what is at issue. Did USC really know that Pola had to ask permission to leave? Were they informed that verbal approval was insufficient to proceed?

Those kinds of things require fact finding that will open USC and Kiffin to producing texts, phone records, emails and testimony about how in less than 48 hours, a man with a contract left his employer and joined another, without proper notice and approval.

Stay tuned..

Used with permission of the author.

Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles. 

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

The Tennessee Titans dropped USC coach Lane Kiffin down to one knee with a back-handed bitch-slap when they filed court docs to sue him for “maliciously” luring assistant coach Kennedy Pola just days before NFL training camp opens. But if history repeats itself, Kiffin will spring back up.

The docs were filed by Tennessee Football Inc., the company that owns the Titans. The lawsuit accuses both USC and Kiffin of violating Pola’s contract, a contract that required him to have written permission to discuss a job with anyone.

This details surrounding this latest incident indicate Kiffin may be up to his shit-stirring ways again and he may not be done leaving his trail.

After becoming the youngest NFL head coach to be hired, then fired, by Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders, a bitter legal battle followed that ordeal. Shortly after that head-butting battle, the controversial coach galloped into the University of Tennessee like a knight in shining armor with his dad, Monte riding in the saddle behind him.

While the dust was still settling from his arrival, he called out University of Florida coach Urban Myer accusing him of recruiting violations and followed that charade with a campaign that included placing billboards around the country proclaiming how his UT program was king of the SEC.

The orange faithful were eating it up. That is until their savior decided to wad up his contract, throw it in the garbage and dump his duties in Knoxville to head west to take a job with the USC Trojans, a job created after Pete Carroll bolted.

Feeling deserted, as they should have, the fans had a few mattress-burning parties and defaced several Knoxville “monuments” like the one pictured here. Once the tears dried up, Tennesseans began moving on, until this latest incident with the Titans.

The lawsuit charges that:

“USC and Kiffin maliciously intended to—and did—induce Pola to breach the Pola contract.”

The suit goes on to state, “USC and Kiffin engaged in improper means in their procurement of the breach and were not legally justified in their actions. Kiffin and USC’s actions, through him, were part of a course and pattern of conduct fostered by Kiffin and USC to use improper methods and means to the direct harm and damage of parties to contracts.”

Titans coach Jeff Fisher, a Southern California alumnus, threw in a couple bitch-slaps of his own showing his displeasure in Kiffin’s actions. Fisher felt slighted and possibly pissed off about never receiving a customary courtesy phone call to let him know they were interested in talking to one of his assistants.

The lawsuit slams Kiffin accusing the coach of intentional actions regarding this case.

In a recent interview with the Tennessean newspaper, Fisher also discussed Kiffin’s lack of professionalism which is not the first time that topic has come up.

The lawsuit requests a jury trial now picture that. A bench full of people decked out in bright orange sitting across from the man who just screwed and set back their college football program. If there’s ever been justification to move a trial to another state . . .

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC