FSN received a stinging rebuke from Judge Kevin Gross for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the District of Delaware in a memorandum opinion issued this afternoon. Gross, outlining the reasoning behind his approval last week of an accelerated cable TV rights auction for the Dodgers, called FSN "disingenuous" for nearly signing a long-term extension with the club last spring just before it filed for bankruptcy, and now fighting a similar endeavor. Gross also said FSN is "not a credible party" to raise concerns over Dodgers Owner Frank McCourt's potential use of proceeds from the rights auction and sale of the team, when no such sentiments were made before bankruptcy when they were negotiating the extension.
Gross also wrote a key claim last week of former FSN president Bob Thompson, who testified the alteration of FSN's back-end contract provisions reduces the value of the current Dodgers rights by 25%, was "a number never supported by evidence." "The court's ruling will enable (the Dodgers) to seek at present what they will unable to obtain later, better telecast terms – first exclusively negotiated with Fox – in conjunction with the sale of the team, thereby maximizing the value of both," Gross wrote. FSN late yesterday filed in U.S. District Court an emergency motion to stay the ruling, pending an appeal, and says its damages may exceed $1B should Prime Ticket be forced to cease operations. But Gross said "any damages flowing from these changes are highly speculative and therefore unsubstantiated.”
