Wild Development Emerges in Duke’s Lawsuit With Mensah

Duke sought a temporary restraining order to prevent the San Luis Obispo, CA native from entering the portal on the basis that Mensah violated the terms of the NIL contract signed between the two parties.

After the 2024 season, Duke signed Mensah via the portal from Tulane to a two-year NIL deal estimated to be worth around $7.5 million. The contract is effective until Dec. 31, 2026.

Clearly, Mensah transferring to another program violates those terms. However, a fascinating development is now emerging in the case.

Lawyer Who Granted Mensah’s Transfer Had Ties to Duke

On Tuesday, Durham County (NC) Superior Court Judge Michael O'Foghludha denied Duke's request to have Mensah blocked from entering the transfer portal. It was later determined that the lawyer had effectively gone against his wife's employer.

It was reported by Sportico's Daniel Libit that O'Foghludha's wife, Linda Daniel, is part of the library staff at Duke University, working as the librarian for cultural anthropology and Native American studies.

Beyond that, O'Foghludha is a Duke basketball season-ticket holder. Ironically enough, he went against his ties to Duke and granted Mensah the ability to enter the portal.

O'Foghludha recused himself from the case after ruling that Duke must allow Mensah to enter the portal.

"According to the court’s docket, the case has been reassigned to Judge Ed Wilson, a Virginia and Wake Forest law school alum who has no publicly known connections to Duke," Libit said.

Latest Intel on the Case Between Duke and Darian Mensah

Darren Heitner, Mensah's attorney, told ESPN that Judge Wilson is scheduled to hear the case on Feb. 2, but Mensah's team is seeking to expedite the date.

"Under the terms of Duke's NIL contract with Mensah, any disputes must be settled through arbitration. The school said it filed a claim for arbitration Monday and wants the judge to issue relief until the end of that arbitration process," said ESPN's Mark Schlabach.

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