UA Attorneys File Motion Friday

FAYETTEVILLE -- Attorneys for the University of Arkansas filed a motion late Friday afternoon to get the subpoenas for football coach Houston Nutt and several other university employees thrown out.

Arkansas associate general counsel Scott Varady said the motion was filed around 4 p.m. Friday in Circuit Court in Washington County. John David Terry, a 42-year-old resident of Mount Ida, filed a lawsuit last Tuesday in Washington County against University of Arkansas Chancellor John White and University of Arkansas System President B. Alan Sugg. Terry is seeking for an independent investigation to look into what he believes is White's mishandling of a disparaging e-mail sent to former Arkansas quarterback Mitch Mustain by Teresa Prewett, Nutt's family friend. Varady said several reasons were cited in the motion for why the subpoenas for White, Sugg, Nutt and Arkansas running backs coach Danny Nutt should be "quashed" by the court. Arkansas has called the lawsuit "frivolous," and the university's attorneys intend to file a motion in two weeks to get the lawsuit dismissed. "Our position is that until the court rules on that (motion for dismissal), there should be no discovery (of evidence)," Varady said Friday night. Varady said the court could rule quickly or in a few weeks regarding the university's motion to have the lawsuit dismissed. Eddie Christian Jr., Terry's attorney, said last Wednesday he had subpoenaed Houston Nutt and Prewett, as well as the hard drive on both individuals' computers. Christian said the purpose was to find any correspondence between Nutt and Prewett around the time the e-mail was sent to Mustain in December. But Varady said Friday's motion, which was filed less than an hour before the court closed, was also intended to get the subpoenas for Nutt and his brother, Danny, dismissed. "Part of the motion was filed on their behalf," Varady said. Houston Nutt was involved in more legal wrangling Thursday, this time to confront an Arkansas fan who had obtained the coach's cell phone records. Nutt met with Thomas McAfee, a 28-year-old Searcy resident, for around an hour Thursday at McAfee's attorney's office in downtown Little Rock. McAfee obtained Nutt's cell phone records through the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. Alarmed with what he felt was an alarming number of calls and text messages to Prewett and a female TV anchor, McAfee sent a letter to Arkansas' Board of Trustees. Nutt, accompanied by his wife Diana and personal attorney Byron Freeland, met with McAfee. The meeting got heated at times, according to Nate Coulter, McAfee's attorney.