INDIANAPOLIS — Fox Corporation is making a calculated legal power play in the ongoing fallout from former analyst Mark Sanchez’s violent October altercation. In a major development, Fox has filed to move the civil lawsuit filed by Perry Tole—the 69-year-old truck driver allegedly assaulted by Sanchez—from an Indiana state court to federal court.
The lawsuit stems from a bizarre October 4 incident where Sanchez, who was in town to call an Indianapolis Colts game, allegedly instigated a confrontation with Tole in an alley outside a downtown hotel. Tole, who suffered severe facial and neck injuries, is suing both Sanchez for battery and Fox for negligent hiring and supervision, claiming the network knew or should have known of Sanchez’s “propensity for drinking and harmful conduct.”
By seeking a transfer to federal court, Fox is attempting to strip away any local bias or “home-field advantage” Tole might enjoy in Marion Superior Court. To succeed, Fox’s legal team is arguing that Huse Culinary—the parent company of St. Elmo Steak House, where Sanchez was allegedly over-served alcohol—was “fraudulently joined” to the suit. Fox contends the restaurant was only added as a defendant to prevent the case from meeting “diversity of citizenship” requirements that would otherwise trigger federal jurisdiction.
Legal analysts, including former attorney Mike Florio, note that Fox faces a high bar. To move the case, Fox must prove there is “no possibility” of Tole prevailing against the restaurant group. If the case remains in Indiana, a local judge and jury may be more sympathetic to Tole, a longtime community worker, than to a multi-billion-dollar media conglomerate.
“Fox is fighting this on two fronts,” a legal expert observed. “They’re trying to distance themselves from Sanchez’s off-duty behavior while also maneuvering the case into a venue where lifetime-appointed federal judges might view corporate liability more conservatively than a state-elected judge.”
Sanchez, who has since been fired by Fox and replaced by Drew Brees, is also facing a Level 5 felony battery charge in a separate criminal trial, which was recently pushed back to March 2026. While the criminal case focuses on the “parking space” dispute that turned bloody, the civil case is increasingly becoming a battle over corporate responsibility for traveling employees.
As the legal maneuvering intensifies, the outcome of this jurisdictional fight will likely determine the scale of the potential payout for Tole, who continues to undergo medical treatment for what his lawyers describe as “permanent disfigurement.”
