Houston Nutt's lawsuit against Ole Miss may have hit a roadblock on Wednesday afternoon.
According to Antonio Morales of the Clarion Ledger, Ole Miss has been granted dismissal in the lawsuit by a district court judge.
Morales later described that the lawsuit was dismissed due to Ole Miss representing an actor of the state, meaning they would be immune to the lawsuit under the current jurisdiction.
From the Clarion-Ledger:
"In response to the instant motion, the plaintiff concedes that the defendants' argument is meritorious and asserts 'it is agreed that this court lacks subject matter jurisdiction,'" the order states.
Mark Schlabach reports that Nutt and his legal team may re-file the suit in state court.
Nutt was seeking an apology and $500,000 to create an ethics commission in the lawsuit.
Nutt's lawsuit alleged that Freeze and Ole Miss colluded with the media to issue false or misleading information about Nutt's tenure with the school from 2008 to 2011. The lawsuit claims that information related those allegations will be found in Freeze's full phone records, and that Ole Miss had been uncooperative in handling the request in line with Mississippi's open records laws.
The scandal is the latest in what has been an on-going disaster for the Ole Miss football program and athletic department. The school is currently under NCAA investigation for allegations of improper benefits given to recruits and players, some of which relates to Nutt's lawsuit against the school. While Ole Miss has self-imposed a postseason ban for football in 2017, the NCAA has still yet to rule and hand down their own punishments on the case.
Former offensive coordinator Matt Luke is currently serving as the Ole Miss interim head coach following Freeze's resignation. As of now, he is expected to coach the entire 2017 season before Ole Miss searches for a permanent option.