FSN late last night, as expected, filed in U.S. District Court its request to stay last week's bankruptcy court decision approving an accelerated auction of the Dodgers' cable TV rights, pending a subsequent appeal. FSN called the decision, moving up bidding for the club's post-'13 rights by nearly a year, a "legally unprecedented order that is economically disastrous for Prime Ticket and completely unnecessary to the upcoming team sale." FSN asserted its threat to file a large damages claim, "of at least $1 billion," should the accelerated auction go through and Prime Ticket is forced to cease operations as a result. The $1B refers to the minimum value of Prime Ticket, in the opinion of former FSN President Robert Thompson, who testified in favor of Fox last week. Judge Kevin Gross of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware ruled the accelerated auction was "not material" to FSN's existing contract with the Dodgers, and cited the strong support of the club's creditors for the new timetable. Dodgers Owner Frank McCourt wants the new timetable to help boost the ultimate sales price of the team. But FSN said those creditors will be repaid in full anyway, eliminating any real need to redo their contract. "Solvent debtors ... cannot use the bankruptcy code as a sword to inflict pain upon a single creditor," FSN said in its filing.
