NSAC expectedly opposes Nick Diaz's request for injunction in lawsuit

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Nick Diaz's attorney filed a lawsuit late last month against the Nevada State Athletic Commission, alleging that Diaz's due process rights had been violated by the NSAC's failure to hear his case within an adequate amount of time.

The Nevada Attorney General's office told Diaz's lawyer, Ross Goodman, that he had failed to provide Diaz's medical marijuana card and other documentation requested, and additionally had cited the wrong statute in their request to be heard at the April meeting. That response led to the filing of this lawsuit, which requests a preliminary injunction on his suspension. That case will be heard on Monday in Nevada.

The NSAC has filed a response to the lawsuit and request for injunction, and they argue that Diaz "can't take legal action until the commission makes a final ruling on his disciplinary complaint." (via MMAJunkie.com)

The commission blames Diaz's camp for the proceedings being held up due to not providing the medical marijuana card and other unnamed documentation on the case. Additionally, they claim that an injunction shouldn't be given because Diaz is "not likely to succeed on the merits of his arguments."

They also accuse Diaz of ignoring their processes before filing this lawsuit and claiming harm has been done.

Ultimately, a Nevada judge will rule this coming Monday on whether the NSAC has the right to continue further with the complaint against Diaz based on the suit put forth and the response from the NSAC. The two sides will argue the merits of their stances at that time.

Penick's Analysis: This whole situation is a jumble. The NSAC clearly isn't going to admit that there's any merit to any of the responses filed by Diaz's camp throughout this proceeding, and Diaz's attorney feels they've got a substantial case against the commission, their current system, and the rules they're abiding by. It will come to a head at Monday's hearing, and if it doesn't go in Diaz's favor, then a hearing will still need to be had to determine Diaz's punishment or lack thereof for his positive test for marijuana metabolites. Considering the NSAC is judge, jury, and executioner on that front, Diaz's camp is feeling more comfortable bringing this in front of a judge than the commission at this point, and we'll see how successful that decision was on Monday.

[Nick Diaz art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]

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