AT&T Mobility files papers for preliminary injunction

On Monday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, AT&T Mobility LLC filed for a preliminary injunction that would allow the company to place the AT&T logos on the No. 31 Chevrolet owned by Richard Childress and driven by Jeff Burton in NASCAR's Nextel Cup Series.

AT&T also filed a motion Monday for expedited discovery. The court has not set a hearing date on the motion for preliminary injunction.

AT&T sues NASCAR over logo change

AT&T has filed a lawsuit against NASCAR as the company looks to phase out the Cingular brand on Richard Childress Racing's No. 31 Chevrolet.

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The motion follows AT&T's March 16 filing of a lawsuit against NASCAR, claiming the sanctioning body had no contractual right to exclude the AT&T logos from the car.

The suit stems from the recent merger between AT&T and Cingular Wireless and AT&T's desire to rebrand the Cingular name as AT&T. Cingular has contracted with Richard Childress Racing to sponsor the No. 31 car through 2007, with an option for 2008.

NASCAR contends that its exclusivity arrangement with Nextel Cup Series title sponsor Sprint/Nextel precludes another wireless company from entering the series as a sponsor. Cingular and Alltel, which sponsors the No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge of Ryan Newman, were grandfathered into the Nextel Cup Series because their respective sponsorships predate the agreement with Sprint/Nextel.

AT&T argues that the only restrictions placed on its sponsorship agreement with Childress involve either elevating its brand position on the car (Cingular is the primary sponsor of the No. 31 Chevrolet) or transferring the sponsorship to another car. AT&T contends that a name change is within its rights.

An excerpt from the motion reads, "Plaintiff respectfully moves the court to preliminarily enjoin NASCAR from interfering with plaintiff's right to introduce the AT&T logo and brand in the paint scheme of the No. 31 Car that it sponsors in NASCAR racing."

An addendum to the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver and car owner agreement signed by Burton and Childress -- and entered as an exhibit by the plaintiff -- contains a specific grandfather clause that states:

"To the extent that Driver/Team:

i) has a sponsorship or Driver personal services relationship which precludes such Driver/Team from complying with the 2007 Driver and Car Owner Agreement as set forth above,

a) such Driver/Team shall have the right to renew such sponsorship and Driver personal services agreement so long as sponsor shall not increase its brand position on the vehicle, and

b) if such sponsor fails to renew with undersigned Team, Driver/Team shall not sign a subsequent sponsorship or licensing agreement in the Category (wireless telecommunications)."

However, in a letter from former NASCAR chief operating officer George Pyne to Childress, dated April 4, 2005, Pyne wrote:

"... should Cingular be acquired by a third party, the Cingular brand is continually welcome as a team sponsor. However, should the company's name change, we will not allow any paint scheme or branding on the car/team promoting this new name or a new third party."

NASCAR president Mike Helton affirmed that position in a letter to Stan Sigman, president and CEO of Cingular Wireless, dated Feb. 13, 2007.

AT&T has based its case on promises the company asserts NASCAR made in 2003.