CPS’ request for summary denied; lawsuit with Sells heads to jury trial in summer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Wayne Sells’ lawsuit against Columbia Public Schools will have a jury trial.

CPS filed a motion for summary judgement last week and was denied. A two-day trial will be held between June and August for a breach-of-contract claim by Sells.

The Columbia Board Of Education unanimously voted to rename its athletics  field in 2020 after Wayne Sells – on Facebook --  criticized professional athletes who were protesting during the national anthem before games by kneeling. Sells had suggested renaming the field Veterans Memorial Field.

Lawyers for Sells and CPS argued for more than two hours last week at the Boone County Courthouse. They discussed whether or not Columbia Public Schools had a legal contract with Sells after he gave Rock Bridge High School $100,000 to improve its athletic facilities. 

The field was named Wayne Sells Family Activity Field for 14 years after he paid for the improvements. Sells claims that he has naming rights to the field as a part of an agreement he made with the then-athletic director and that renaming it is a breach of contract.

CPS claims the money was a donation and there was never a formal written agreement giving naming rights to Sells.