Tribune litigation may be one of Utah's largest

Now that a settlement is expected to put to rest the seven-year legal conflict over the Salt Lake Tribune, those involved in the case say the battle over the paper could be one of the largest civil litigations in Utah's history, possibly topping $60 million in legal costs.

Over the seven years, six lawsuits and one countersuit have been filed in the case. The cases have involved three of Utah's leading federal judges, with two more recused, and seen at least five trips to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.

To fully understand these cases requires following the complex threads of newspaper management, corporate law and detailed contracts, all of which form a tapestry of a family that lost control of a 100-year-old legacy, and a newspaper company that says it bought the paper fair and square.

A confidential settlement announced Wednesday appears to spell an end to the fight. Phil McCarthey, whose family owns Salt Lake Tribune Publishing, called the settlement "substantial" but would not disclose the amount. McCarthey said his family's decision to settle was in part to avoid more years of litigation.

MediaNews CEO and Tribune publisher Dean Singleton said he understands the McCarthey family's passion and pledged to do the best job he can to produce "an outstanding" newspaper.

Both Singleton and McCarthey told the Deseret Morning News that the protracted court battle could be one of the biggest civil litigation cases in Utah.

Some close to the case have estimated that total legal costs for all sides in the case add up to $60 million.

"In terms of legal fees expended, this is one of the largest cases in the history of Utah," said David Jordan, attorney for the Deseret Morning News. In addition to MediaNews being sued by the McCarthey family, the Deseret Morning News was also named as a defendant on a few claims.

Other attorneys agree that the time, money and effort involved in this case are staggering.

"It's certainly one of the longer-running and most vigorously litigated disputes," said MediaNews attorney James Jardine.

But most involved say they are simply glad this chapter for both papers is finally over.

"Nobody likes litigation," Singleton said. "It's time-consuming, it takes energy from the management team and it's very expensive. Both sides were represented by two of the best law firms in America and it was expensive, but we wanted to buy the Salt Lake Tribune."