Lawyers for former Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio and other university officials are seeking up to $214,153 in reimbursed legal fees from former program recruiting director Curtis Blackwell in his federal lawsuit.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Sally Berens on March 20 issued an order recommending Blackwell’s lawsuit be dismissed, his lawyers be removed from the case and for legal fees to be paid. She wrote Blackwell’s lawyers “repeatedly misused court process to elicit information unrelated to his case” and “used discovery, not to adduce support for the narrow claim Plaintiff alleges against the MSU Defendants in this case, but to harass the defendants and to build a case they have now filed in state court.”

Berens’ recommendations will be ruled on by U.S. District Judge Janet Neff.

“Yes, I’ve gotten awards of costs before,” said Thomas Kienbaum, an attorney for Dantonio who has been practicing for more than 50 years. “Have I ever gotten anything close to what I think this judge will award? Nope, never. I’ve never asked for anything close to this, never been an occasion for it.”

Judge recommends Curtis Blackwell lawsuit against Mark Dantonio and others be dismissed

Blackwell is suing Dantonio, former Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis and former university president Lou Anna Simon for wrongful termination, saying his Fifth Amendment rights were violated.

Kienbaum said the lawsuit, filed in November 2018, has cost Michigan State almost $315,000 in fees just since Sept. 1, 2019. He said he didn’t immediately have the total amount the university has paid to date but the amount incurred prior to Sept. 1 was “nominal” in comparison to what it is since. He added that a similar lawsuit would usually cost about $100,000 total to defend.

Blackwell’s lawyers have used court filings to allege Dantonio was guilty of committing NCAA violations and perjury and claim Blackwell was a scapegoat in the wake of sexual assault allegations against football players and disgraced former university sports medicine doctor Larry Nassar. They also accused Dantonio of continuing to recruit Auston Robertson, who had a history of alleged sexual assaults, against the advice of assistant coaches. Robertson sexually assaulted a fellow Michigan State student his freshman year and is serving 43 months to 10 years in prison.

Dantonio announced his retirement on Feb. 4, after 13 seasons leading the Spartans. That was one day after Blackwell’s lawyers filed documents alleging NCAA violations.

Mark Dantonio says lawsuit has ‘zero’ to do with retiring, AD calls NCAA violations claim false

Blackwell is also suing two Michigan State University Police detectives for wrongful arrest, seeking up to $5.5 million. In the recommendations issued on March 20, Berens didn’t suggest that lawsuit should be dismissed by did recommend Blackwell’s lawyers, Thomas Warnicke and Andrew Paterson, be removed, and for monetary sanctions to be awarded. An affidavit filed by the detectives’ lawyer on Friday shows they’re seeking $47,866 in fees.

Warnicke did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Dantonio’s lawyers are asking for a judgement of one of two figures – $214,153 or $140,015. The lesser of the two figures was calculated through costs related to specific matters in the case.

“It is virtually impossible to catch everything that is directly related,” Kienbaum said. “It’s very difficult to assess this – the direct relationship between their misconduct, which has now been established, and the costs incurred. What we did is the best we could with the more modest figure. … What the judge can do, and we think should consider, is to take a rough cut at this.”

Kienbaum said Blackwell’s lawyers have 14 days to respond to their request for fees. They also have until April 17 to file an appeal or any objections to the recommendations issued by Berens.

Blackwell in March filed a state lawsuit against Dantonio, Hollis, Simon and current Michigan State athletic director Bill Beekman in state court, alleging wrongful termination and racial discrimination.

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