Judge Says She'll Order 'SF Weekly' to Pay Millions More to 'Bay Guardian'

By: A San Francisco judge said Friday that she would likely issue an injunction barring the SF Weekly newspaper from selling cut-rate advertising as a way of putting the competing San Francisco Bay Guardian out of business.

Superior Court Judge Marla Miller also indicated during a hearing that she is inclined to more than double the damages a jury awarded to the Bay Guardian in its dispute with the Weekly, from $6.3 million to $15.6 million. The higher amount equals a year's worth of the revenue the Guardian claims it lost after the Weekly slashed its ad rates.

Both papers are free alternative weeklies. The SF Weekly is one of 16 newspapers owned by Village Voice Media, while the Bay Guardian is owned by local publisher Bruce Brugmann. . Miller says she thinks she has to impose the injunction and increase the damage award to comply with a state law that prohibits below-cost pricing aimed at hurting a competing business.

But Forest Hainline, the SF Weekly's lawyer, says that forcing the paper to raise its ad rates would infringe on the freedom of the press. The paper would either have to charge rates few advertisers would be willing to pay or cut costs by reducing how much it pays writers and editors.

"You're going to silence a First Amendment voice," Hainline said.

The judge disagreed.

"The only thing we're talking about here is the sale of advertising, not some content-based determination," she said.

Brugmann sued the Weekly and Village Voice Media in 2004, alleging they were trying to put him out of business by charging below-cost rates for ads. In March, a jury sided with Brugmann and awarded the Guardian $6.3 million.

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