Arkansas State University has filed its response to the University of Miami's motion to dismiss a lawsuit the Jonesboro school filed in state court over a canceled football game.
In its Monday afternoon filing, ASU said Miami's motion should be denied because Craighead County is the "proper jurisdiction and venue for this action since the contract was to be performed in Arkansas."
Miami filed its motion March 20 in Craighead County to dismiss ASU's lawsuit in favor of its own suit, which was filed in Miami-Dade County.
The Florida school said dismissal is important to avoid parallel cases with conflicting rulings and that it wants to avoid pitting the state courts' decisions against each other.
In ASU's most recent filing, which ASU shared with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the university said the Miami court does not have jurisdiction in the case and that the Arkansas court is "the more convenient forum."
[NEW: Sign up for the Arkansas sports daily email newsletter]
Both universities have filed lawsuits over a dispute regarding their canceled football game Sept. 9 due to Hurricane Irma.
The ASU and Miami athletic departments signed a contract in May 2013 that stated the Red Wolves would play in Miami during the 2014 season and the Hurricanes would play in Jonesboro during the 2017 season.
The contract stated that if one team did not appear for one of the games, the other would receive a damages payment of $650,000 by Feb. 15, 2018, unless certain circumstances made it "impossible to play the game."
Miami filed for "declaratory relief" Feb. 13; ASU sued for "breach of contract" Feb. 16.
Read Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.