Tribune wants lawsuit shifted

Managers of the Salt Lake Tribune have accused the Deseret News of "shopping" for a favorable jury in its lawsuit against the daily morning paper.

The charge comes in a Monday court filing that requests the suit be moved from Davis County's 2nd District Court to 3rd District Court in Salt Lake County.

The Deseret News' "initiation of this action in Davis County constitutes forum shopping, which is disfavored under Utah law," the motion states. "If this action is to proceed, it should proceed in Salt Lake County."

The lawsuit, filed in April against the holding and publishing companies of the Salt Lake Tribune, alleges the Tribune has tried to stifle competition between the two Salt Lake newspapers by delaying the Deseret News' move to morning publication. It also accuses the Tribune of breaching the papers' joint operating agreement in a number of ways.

The suit specifically seeks validation of the Deseret News' claim that it must consent to any sale of the Tribune and its accompanying half of the Newspaper Agency Corp., the company created by the JOA.

Of the three major counties where the suit could have been filed, Deseret News publisher Jim Wall said, Davis County was chosen because the population there reflected a nearly 50-50 split of readership between both newspapers. The Tribune has a larger circulation in Salt Lake County and the Deseret News enjoys the higher circulation in Utah County, Wall said.

However, according to Monday's motion, legal action on a written contract is limited to three places: the county where the contract was signed, the county where the defendant resides or the county where the contract was to be performed.

Davis County does not fit any of the requirements, Tribune managers say, which makes the Deseret News' choice of venue "transparent" and an attempt to "obtain a more sympathetic ear."

Further, the Deseret News chose to file in Davis County after U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell "ruled in a manner (the Deseret News) does not like" in the Tribune's federal lawsuit against its new owner, MediaNews Group, they say.

Managers of the Tribune tried to block the sale of Kearns-Tribune by AT&T Corp. to Denver-based MediaNews Group in December, but Campbell denied their request for a preliminary injunction.

The sale, finalized Jan. 2, was followed by several changes to the NAC board. MediaNews President Dean Singleton replaced Welch and chief operating officer Randy Frisch with MediaNews representatives.

On Feb. 21, Campbell ruled those changes were improper and Welch and Frisch returned to the board.

It was that ruling that upset publishers of the Deseret News, the motion contends.

Singleton immediately appealed that decision to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, where the case is still pending.

Sale of the Salt Lake Tribune - Read Deseret News' archive stories and see related links about the sale of the Tribune.

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E-MAIL: awelling@desnews.com