The United States District Court in New York ruled on Friday that the first hearing in Alex Rodriguez's lawsuit against Major League Baseball would take place on Oct. 24, reports ESPN New York.
Alex Rodriguez and MLB have Oct. 24 hearing in federal lawsuit
Rodriguez alleges the MLB is conducting a “witch hunt” with the Biogenesis suspensions. He currently faces a 211-game suspension.
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This first hearing will be a pre-trial status conference, a meeting of attorneys from both sides before a judge. This will determine relevant matters in moving the case towards a trial, including how the case will proceed, various discoveries that have been made and any possible settlement negotiations. In addition, a date could be set for a trial during these discussions.
The lawsuit will be the first of two that Rodriguez filed last week. He is accusing Major League Baseball and commissioner Bud Selig of conducting a “witch hunt” and using underhanded and possibly criminal tactics in an effort to ruin his reputation. Rodriguez alleges the MLB has paid Biogenesis founder Tony Bosch $5 million for his cooperation. The MLB and commissioner’s office are hoping to get the case thrown out in federal court.
The second suit is against Yankees team physician Chris Ahmad, whom Rodriguez claims committed medical malpractice.
This lawsuit will not affect the current arbitration hearings between Rodriguez and the MLB. The league is attempting to levy a 211-game lawsuit against the Yankees’ third baseman for his connections to the Biogenesis lab in Florida. The league has suspended 13 other players, all of whom have already served their punishments. Rodriguez was the only player to appeal his suspension after receiving a much harsher punishment than the rest.
Rodriguez’s arbitration hearing is set to resume on Oct. 18, just six days before the newly set hearing in the lawsuit. He is arguing that he did not know the products Bosch gave him were illegal. Most of the appeal has been dominated by testimony from Bosch himself.
If Rodriguez’s suspension is fully upheld, he will miss all of the 2014 season and some of 2015 while losing out on about $30 million of salary.
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