Pitt is suing the Big East Conference with the hopes of trying to get to the ACC sooner than the Conference's departure period the Conference has in place would let them. According to Jerry DiPaola of the Trib, Pitt could have some solid precedent to point to when making their case. West Virginia just won a very similar case against the conference, and Pitt has a lot of the same things going for it.
"A number of things have resulted in a vastly different landscape for the Big East over the past 18 months that could further support teams departing," said Thomas F. Holt Jr. of the Boston law firm K&L Gates who led West Virginia’s effort to leave the Big East. "Pitt may very well have a good case in support of exiting the conference early," Holt said.
Pitt's case is based on the departure of West Virginia as well as that of TCU, which hadn't even played a game as a member before electing to leave. If the conference did not hold those two schools to the standards they have for every other team, it doesn't seem like they will be able to hold Pitt to them either.
For more on the lawsuit, stay tuned to this SB Nation Pittsburgh Storystream and visit SB Nation's Pitt blog, Cardiac Hill.