A New York appeals court has ruled that the Orioles have the right to take their dispute with the Nationals and MASN to "arbitration, lifting a stay in the case to set the stage" for a potential hearing, according to Phil Davis of the BALTIMORE SUN. The New York Supreme Court's Appellate Division yesterday "ruled unanimously that the Orioles are allowed to ask the American Arbitration Association to rule" on whether MASN is "required to pay a profit dividend payment that the network withheld from both teams" in '18. The ruling states that the Orioles "did not consent to arbitration" in front of MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, and that the team "did not waive its right to arbitrate" in front of the AAA. The case in question is "not related to another dispute over rights fees, in which a judge upheld a ruling by an MLB panel" to award $296.8M to the Nationals. The Orioles have "appealed that ruling" (BALTIMORE SUN, 11/20). In DC, Ben Strauss notes in April, a New York State Court "denied the Nationals' request" to have MLB rule on the matter of MASN's profit distribution, after the network argued that MLB has a "fiduciary stake in the Nationals." MLB gave the team a $25M loan "related to a larger legal battle over television rights fees" in '13 (WASHINGTON POST, 11/20).
