A citizens committee must wait three months to pursue its case against the publishers of Seattle's two daily newspapers, a King County Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday.

In a decision released Wednesday morning, Judge Greg Canova ruled that the Committee for a Two-Newspaper Town must wait until June 29 to argue its motion for summary judgment against The Hearst Corp., owner of the Seattle P-I, and The Seattle Times Co.

The committee was scheduled to present that motion April 6.

But that's just one working day before binding arbitration is set to begin before Larry Jordan, who is charged with resolving the four-year-old legal dispute between the P-I and The Seattle Times over the business agreement that has bound them since 1983.

The publishers argued, and Canova apparently agreed, that because defending against the committee's motion will require detailed preparation and argument, requiring them to handle the litigation and the arbitration at the same time would be too burdensome.

Jordan is due to resolve by May 31 whether The Times Co. can exit the joint operating agreement, or JOA, under which it performs key business functions for the P-I in exchange for a larger share of the joint profits.

Hearst says it can't continue publishing the P-I without the JOA. The Times Co. says the agreement is ruining it financially, causing it to lose money for six years in a row.

The committee, which says it represents the public interest, aims in its motion to prevent the publishers from agreeing to close down one newspaper. It attacks as unconstitutional a provision in the JOA allowing Hearst to collect 32 percent of The Seattle Times' profits through 2083 even if it shuts down the P-I.

In court filings, the publishers have asserted that if Hearst wins the arbitration, there will be no need for the committee's motion.

The committee disagrees, noting that the allegedly unconstitutional language in the JOA would remain in force.

Soundoff (Read 1 comment)
What do you think?