The Joe Kinnan saga continues. Latest twist? Judge recuses himself

The judge assigned to hear a lawsuit between former Manatee High School football coach and athletic director Joe Kinnan and the School Board of Manatee County has recused himself.

Twelfth Circuit Court judge Lon Arend issued an order of disqualification on Friday. He was scheduled to rule on motions to dismiss Kinnan’s amended lawsuit on Thursday. That hearing will be rescheduled once the case has been reassigned.

Arend did not offer a reason for disqualifying himself from the case in the paperwork he filed, and lawyers representing both Kinnan and the school district said they did not know why.

“The district has confirmed receipt of the order and awaits a new judicial assignment,” district general counsel Mitch Teitelbaum said.

Arend did not return a call to his chambers Monday afternoon.

Corey Friedman, who is representing Kinnan, said Arend’s recusal came as a surprise.

“In my experience, I don’t often see judges recuse themselves, but I’m unaware of the reasoning why,” Friedman said. “Obviously the judge had his reasons for doing that, and I assume that they were good reasons.”

Kinnan, who won five state championships as Manatee’s football coach, filed a suit against the School Board of Manatee County, former superintendent Rick Mills and former investigator for the school board Troy Pumphrey in September 2016. He alleged Mills, Pumphrey and several former members of the school board targeted him and engaged in a smear campaign that destroyed his reputation. His suit requested a jury trial and $15,000 for loss of consortium.

That initial suit was dismissed in January, and Kinnan filed an amended suit in March.

This story was originally published June 26, 2017 at 4:56 PM with the headline "The Joe Kinnan saga continues. Latest twist? Judge recuses himself."