Trib owner counters in appraisal dispute

Current Salt Lake Tribune owner MediaNews Group Inc. on Thursday filed paperwork opposing an attempt by former Tribune managers to overturn an appraisal of the newspaper.

The $331 million valuation by Management Planning Inc., when averaged with a prior appraisal, sets the fair market value of the Tribune at $355.5 million.

Thursday's filing is in response to a motion to vacate the Management Planning appraisal filed last week by Salt Lake Tribune Publishing Co. In that filing, SLTPC alleged the $331 million value was reached through fraud, an improper execution of power and a "manifest disregard for the law and the facts."

But in the most recent court documents, MediaNews attorneys say SLTPC's allegations are based on a series of mischaracterizations, unwarranted assumptions, distortions and omissions.

"What is most striking, however, about SLTPC's motion is the absence of any allegation of actual fraud, corruption, bias, undue influence or misconduct of any kind in the appraisal process," MediaNews' motion states.

Because the appraisal has been determined to be an arbitration that is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, at least one of those things must be present to successfully challenge the final value.

A hearing on SLTPC's motion to vacate the appraisal is scheduled for Sept. 29.

The final purchase price is central to the nearly 3-year-old lawsuit. SLTPC seeks to enforce the 1997 option agreement and purchase the Tribune from MediaNews, which bought the paper in January 2001 for $200 million.

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