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The contentious dispute between Women’s Professional Soccer and magicJack owner Dan Borislow continues to heat up as Monday’s court hearing looms [Ed. Note: Monday's hearing has been called off, refer to note at the bottom of the post.]

On June 14, WPS sent a Notice of Hearing to magicJack to start the process that could possibly see the franchise terminated. Borislow and his legal team have since requested a temporary injunction in order to preserve the status quo and force the league into arbitration.

There might be a major snag in Borislow’s request for an injunction, however.

According to the LLC Agreement that owners must sign prior to assuming ownership of a WPS franchise, all disputes must be filed in either Delaware (the state in which the league is incorporated) or San Francisco (the city that previously housed the league’s physical front office).

On Wednesday, Borislow acted to obtain an injunction in Florida, where the team is located. That is a violation of the LLC Agreement’s venue clause, and thus, could automatically void Borislow’s request.

“magicJack breached the agreement when it filed its lawsuit in Florida rather than Delaware or San Francisco,” said WPS’s outside counsel Pamela Fulmer.

Fulmer also responded to the lawsuit’s claim that WPS strategically timed its move to terminate Borislow’s ownership rights around the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Page four of the injunction request states:

Clearly the League intends in the meantime, given the enormous popularity of women’s soccer at this time and the recent increased interest in investment in the League, to seize control of the Team’s franchise and sell it to the highest bidder.

Fulmer disputes the claim, however, and maintains that the timing was incidental.

“There was no purpose to do any of this around the World Cup. Borislow continued to breach the contract and was put on notice of those breaches,” she says. “There was no purposeful intent on part of league to have this play out around the World Cup. It’s just the way it all worked out.”

WPS has been the subject of criticism as a result of its decision to issue a press release on Wednesday morning, thereby bringing the issue to light. Some have thought that the league’s decision to publicly address Borislow’s injunction request needlessly shifted focus away from the field of play and back on to WPS’s internal issues.

Fulmer suggests that the league did not intend to go public, but felt compelled to comment once Borislow took legal action.

“The league wasn’t planning on going public as it was very distracting. It was Mr. Borislow who ran out and made this public filing. Once it’s filed, it’s out there so everyone can see. And then the league had to defend itself.”

The Palm Beach Post reports that Borislow may withdraw his motion, and that the dispute could be resolved out of court.

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