A North Carolina judge has granted a Legacy Motor Club request amid continued lawsuits against Rick Ware Racing and businessman TJ Puchyr.
Following a hearing on Thursday, the judge granted the request for a temporary restraining order. According to the ruling, this temporary restraining order prevents Rick Ware Racing from closing on a deal to sell its charters and team to Puchyr.
Rick Ware Racing's lawyer revealed during the court hearing that the deal involving the team and its two charters is $150 million.
This restraining order is good for 10 days. As part of this ruling, Legacy Motor Club must post a $5 million bond. Additionally, the court will set a hearing for a preliminary injunction request.
The legal issues between Legacy Motor Club and Rick Ware Racing involve a dispute over a previous Charter Purchase Agreement. The Jimmie Johnson-co-owned team filed a lawsuit against Rick Ware Racing in April, alleging that the team had attempted to back out of a deal involving one charter.
According to one report, the timeline of the deal became one initial point of dispute between the two teams. Legacy Motor Club had 2026 as the transfer date. Rick Ware Racing had 2027 as the transfer date.
The legal battle continued in June as Rick Ware Racing countersued Legacy Motor Club. The team mentioned in the court filing confusion over the charter number. Rick Ware Racing said it intended to race charter No. 27 in 2026 and sell charter No. 36. The team alleged that Legacy Motor Club signed the agreement and then began "insisting that the agreement concerned charter No. 27."
Fast-forward to mid-July when Legacy Motor Club filed a lawsuit against Puchyr, the man who had helped broker the original Charter Purchase Agreement between the two teams. Puchyr had told the Associated Press that he would buy Rick Ware Racing and take over the team in 2026. Additionally, Puchyr told AP that he wants to expand to three chartered entries by 2027.
This led to Legacy Motor Club's request for the temporary restraining order preventing the deal between Puchyr and Rick Ware Racing. Legacy Motor Club said in the lawsuit that Puchyr and Rucus Racing LLC had violated the North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act with his actions. The team said he had "intentionally induced RWR to breach its contract with Legacy."