By: E&P Staff The San Francisco Bay Guardian's lawsuit accusing its rival alternative newspaper, SF Weekly, and its Village Voice Media owners of predatory pricing has been set for trial the day after New Year's.
In an Oct. 25 ruling, California Superior Court Judge Richard A. Kramer rejected three motions for summary dismissal of the lawsuit by lawyers for SF Weekly.
Each paper presented a radically different view of the rulings.
"This is a major victory for the local, independent, alternative press. And a major defeat for the VillageVoice/NewTimes/SF Weekly type of predatory chain journalism," Bay Guardian co-founder Bruce B. Brugmann said in an e-mail.
"Judge Lets Guardian's Loony Lawsuit Go to Trial," read the headline over the SF Weekly's account of the court hearing by Andy Van De Voorde. SF Weekly noted pointedly that the judge said in court that he was not ruling on the lawsuit's merits -- and that some of the allegedly illegal practices could be construed as simply good business.
"You could look at the facts and say it was anticompetitive, or you could look at the facts and say, 'Boy, do I wish those guys were my senior management," the paper quoted Kramer as saying "with a smile as he made his ruling."
The Bay Guardian account by Tim Redmond noted that Kramer rejected SF Weekly's argument that the lawsuit amounted to a potential violation of its First Amendment rights because advertising, even discounted advertising, supports editorial content and staffing levels.
Kramer ruled that the First Amendment does not permit newspapers to engage in illegal anticompetitive practices, but said the newspaper could make its argument about the free press implications to a jury.
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