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Jeremy Mayfield appeal alleges NASCAR wanted to make example out of him and ignored flawed drug-testing procedures
Suspended Sprint Cup driver Jeremy Mayfield has reiterated claims that NASCAR Chairman Brian France disliked him and that NASCAR either fabricated the results of a May 2009 drug test or should have known the likelihood of inaccurate results, according to Mayfield’s appeal in his long-running federal lawsuit against NASCAR.
Filed late Tuesday night with the U.S. Court of Appeals, Mayfield’s appeal challenges the May 2010 ruling in favor of NASCAR and asks that the case be re-opened, allowing more time for investigation by the parties and proceeding toward trial.
U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen ruled last May that Mayfield had given up his right to sue through various waivers he had signed to compete in NASCAR. Mullen also questioned whether Mayfield had the evidence to support his claims that NASCAR erred in determining he tested positive for methamphetamines.
Mayfield’s appeal centers around whether the waivers are applicable in this case and disputes Mullen’s judgment about the quality of Mayfield’s evidence. Mayfield also asks to be allowed to tweak his lawsuit based on what he says is new evidence, a request that Mullen also has denied.
Mayfield, who has 433 career starts with five Cup victories and two appearances in the Chase championship format, was the first driver suspended under NASCAR random drug-testing policy that began in 2009. He has denied using methamphetamines and contends that the drug-test findings that prompted his suspension resulted from a combination of the prescription drug Adderall, which is used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and over-the-counter Claritin-D allergy medicine.
NASCAR suspended Mayfield following the positive test, and Mayfield, who briefly could have raced after he obtained a temporary injunction against NASCAR from suspending him, has not raced since May 2009. His lawsuit alleges breach of contract, defamation, discrimination and unfair trade practices.
“[NASCAR] expressed [a] desire to make an example of Mayfield as the first NASCAR driver to be suspended under the Substance Abuse Policy. … There were obvious reasons to doubt the accuracy of Mayfield’s test results,” Mayfield’s appeal, filed by attorney Daniel Marino, states.
Mayfield, who was driving for his own Mayfield Motorsports team at the time of his suspension, claims that NASCAR and Aegis Sciences Corp., which conducts and administers the NASCAR drug tests, did not follow proper procedures in conducting and analyzing his drug sample.
NASCAR now has more detailed procedures outlined in its drug-testing policy as well as a list of drugs that are banned.
“In addition to failing to provide notice of any rights or responsibilities, Defendants [NASCAR and France] did not identify in advance which drugs were prohibited (or, for that matter, what non-prohibited drugs could potentially trigger a positive result),” the appeal states.
Mayfield claims that NASCAR implied it would follow federal workplace guidelines for how it handled drug tests because NASCAR’s policy required the NASCAR driver and crewmen tests to be performed by labs certified to conduct tests of federal employees. Mullen ruled NASCAR did not have to follow those guidelines, and Mayfield disputes that decision.
“NASCAR created the impression that it would abide by those procedures and certainly did not disclose that NASCAR would not conduct itself according to any particular guidelines or standards in implementing the Substance Abuse Policy,” Mayfield’s appeal states.
“Appellant Mayfield was never provided with oral or written notice of any rights or responsibilities he might have in connection with the drug test.”
Those responsibilities included Mayfield having the right to have his urine sample tested by an independent lab.
“Mayfield … was specifically told that he could have NASCAR and/or Aegis test his Sample ‘B’ urine specimen, rather than being notified of his right to require that his Sample ‘B’ be tested by a [another] certified laboratory,” Mayfield’s appeal states. “Then, without his consent, knowledge, or permission, NASCAR and/or Aegis proceeded to test Appellant Mayfield’s Sample ‘B’, rendering it unavailable for retesting by a second laboratory, and ultimately depriving Plaintiffs of any opportunity to independently confirm or challenge the alleged test results.
“By withholding information and providing misleading information, Plaintiffs deceived Appellant Mayfield and inequitably asserted their power or position over them.”
Why would NASCAR do that? Mayfield claims in his appeal that NASCAR did not want him to sign a $30 million agreement with SmallSponsor.com, which wanted to coordinate small companies in their sponsorship of a NASCAR driver so they can enter into long-term agreements that they couldn’t do individually.
“This agreement would have permitted [Mayfield] to continue racing for the foreseeable future, contrary to France’s expressed desire, and diverting sponsorship dollars away from NASCAR and to [Mayfield’s] benefit,” the appeal states. “Defendants interfered with [Mayfield’s] contractual and business relationship with SmallSponsor.com by acting to prevent [him] from receiving the benefit of the agreement and to inhibit [his] ability to perform.”
Mayfield claims that France had a long-standing problem with him and ordered him to be black-flagged during the 2006 Brickyard 400, an allegation denied by NASCAR and the owner of Mayfield’s car at the time, Ray Evernham.
NASCAR has until April 25 to respond to the appeal, and Mayfield will have two weeks to respond to NASCAR’s brief. The appeals court – the Fourth Circuit, based in Richmond, Va. – will not hold hearings from June-August, so the earliest the appeals judges would hold a hearing likely is late September, with a decision on the appeal not coming for at least another month.
If Mayfield were to win the appeal, the case would return to U.S. District Court, with time devoted to more depositions and evidence-gathering as well as likely more motions for the judge to make a ruling in the case prior to conducting an actual jury trial.
Mayfield has not designated a specified amount of damages he would seek.
In the nearly two years that he has been suspended, Mayfield and his race team have been subjected to several lawsuits and liens filed against him and his property. As of Monday, North Carolina court records showed Mayfield and his team had judgments and liens against them totaling more than $913,000 in for state and federal taxes, legal fees, race equipment and property surveying.