A federal judge has allowed the Pac-12 Conference’s lawsuit against the Mountain West Conference over $55 million in “poaching fees” to go forward. Northern District of California Senior Judge Claudia Wilken denied the Mountain West’s motion to dismiss the case on Tuesday. She set an initial case management conference for Nov. 18. “The Pac-12 Conference is pleased that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied the Mountain West Conference’s motion to dismiss,” the Pac-12 said in a statement. “We will move forward with our case. The ruling allows our antitrust and related claims to proceed. We remain confident in our position and focused on advancing academic excellence, athletic achievement, and the tradition that has defined the Pac-12 for more than a century.” The conferences failed to reach an agreement by a July deadline for mediation, and the Pac-12 requested the hearing on a pending motion to dismiss. The Pac-12 and some of its new schools filed lawsuits last year, claiming the poaching clause it agreed to when it signed a scheduling agreement for its football teams for last season was invalid. The clause called for payments to the Mountain West of $10 million for the first