The past 12 hours have brought confusing developments in Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin’s lawsuit against Marriott. The next few hours should provide considerable clarity.
Last night, Irvin voluntarily dismissed the case. (Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News tells us that the case was dismissed “without prejudice.”) This morning, Irvin’s lawyer distributed notice of a press conference to be held at 11:00 a.m. CT.
The email states that, during the press conference, the video of Irvin’s interaction with his accuser “will be shared.”
If the case had been settled, the dismissal would have happened with prejudice. By dismissing without prejudice, Irvin reserves the right to re-file the case.
Marriott has argued that it doesn’t own the hotel in question. Irvin may have decided to attempt to rectify that flaw, if there is one, in a new filing.
It’s also possible that, based on the information secured to date in the litigation, Irvin will make claims against the NFL and its various teams. That would allow him to defeat federal diversity jurisdiction by suing the Cowboys and the Texans. Such a maneuver would keep the case in state court, which likely would be a more favorable forum for his overall interests. (It would be a very bold move for Irvin to sue the NFL, since he’s still employed by the league.)
Or maybe the entire purpose of the lawsuit was to get the surveillance video from Marriott, so that Irvin could secure public exoneration. This would explain the decision to promptly hold a press conference, at which the video would be played, the morning after dismissal.
There’s one other possibility to consider. Marriott had filed a motion aimed at preventing Irvin from disclosing the video publicly. By dismissing the case, the court now has no ability to block the video from being released — unless Marriott immediately mobilizes to file its own lawsuit aimed at preventing the video from being shared with the general public.
That would be a risky move by Irvin, because a judge could easily conclude that Irvin and his lawyers are engaged in gamesmanship in an effort to avoid an order preventing them from playing the video.
Whatever the reason(s) for the dismissal of the lawsuit, we’ll know more about where the case is heading based on today’s press conference.