U.S. District Judge Leonard Stark Friday ruled that the Dodgers "must halt the sale" of their television rights for now, according to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. TIMES. Stark ruled that he was "likely to conclude" that a prior court decision permitting the sale was "based on one or more clearly erroneous findings of fact." Stark put the sale “on hold pending a Jan. 12 hearing.” The Dodgers “could pursue their own appeal, but it is unlikely that such an appeal could be resolved in time to affect the sale of the team.” Team Owner Frank McCourt has agreed with MLB that he would “complete the sale of the Dodgers by April 30.” However, MLB “has the right to approve bidders, and it is uncertain how seriously the league would consider bids that would not be viable without immediate television money.” In his ruling Friday, Stark wrote that there “is no indication the Dodgers' emergence from bankruptcy depends on selling the future television rights.” He wrote that putting the sale on hold “should not harm either the Dodgers or their creditors and cited ‘the public's interest in enforcing contractual rights’” (L.A. TIMES, 12/24).
