Court lets San Francisco Bay Guardian seek payment of $21M in SF Weekly advertising case
By APFriday, January 8, 2010
Court lets Bay Guardian seek payment in ad case
SAN FRANCISCO — A legal dispute between San Francisco’s alternative weekly newspapers has escalated under a new court order allowing the Bay Guardian to try to collect $21 million in damages from the SF Weekly.
A San Francisco Superior Court commissioner on Wednesday granted the Bay Guardian’s request to place a lien on the Weekly’s holding company, Phoenix-based New Times Media, and the company’s assets in the Village Voice newspaper chain.
The SF Weekly has resisted paying as it appeals a jury’s 2008 finding that it engaged in predatory price-cutting on advertisements.
Attorneys for the newspapers disagree on whether the lien would let the Bay Guardian seek to sell off any of the chain’s newspapers or demand straight-up payment.
The Bay Guardian is owned by local publisher Bruce Brugmann.
Information from: San Francisco Chronicle, www.sfgate.com/chronicle
