Dodgers' evidentiary hearing postponed a month; court cites no reason

By Jim Witters

Wilmington, Del., Oct. 27 - An evidentiary hearing slated for four days next week in the case of the Los Angeles Dodgers LLC has been postponed for one month "at the court's direction," according to documents filed Thursday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

A court official said the judge offered no explanation for the postponement.

Stefanie Goodsell, an analyst at Kekst and Co. and a spokeswoman for the Dodgers in connection with the bankruptcy case, said the team has no comment on the scheduling change.

The move comes two days after attorneys for the Dodgers, for Major League Baseball and for Fox Sports Net West 2, LLC reviewed their witness lists in preparation for the hearing, which was scheduled for Oct. 31, Nov. 1, Nov. 2 and Nov. 4.

Judge Kevin Gross and the attorneys were to conduct a conference call late Oct. 26 to discuss witness lists and trial procedures. The conference call was closed to the public.

During the Oct. 25 hearing, Dodgers attorney Sidney P. Levinson said the four days set aside for the trial may be insufficient given the number of witnesses scheduled for testimony.

Gross rescheduled the hearing for Nov. 29.

On the agenda

Among the matters to be heard Nov. 29 are:

• The Dodgers' motion for approval of its plan to market the licensing of telecast rights to its games.

The company wants to market the rights to telecast about 150 preseason and regular season Dodger games starting with the 2014 season.

In the first phase, the company would negotiate exclusively with Fox Sports for a period of 45 days.

In phase two, the company would launch a comprehensive marketing process, which would last roughly 60 days and culminate in an auction open to all qualified bidders.

Bidders would have the opportunity to bid on all or a portion of the telecast rights, and the team would then submit the winning bids to the commissioner of Major League Baseball for approval.

Fox has objected to the plan, asserting its rights under a 14-year deal Fox and the Dodgers signed shortly before the Dodgers filed for bankruptcy.

• The motion of MLB to terminate the debtors' exclusivity or to compel the debtors to assume or reject their baseball agreements with the league.

The MLB commissioner wants to terminate the debtors' exclusive right to submit a reorganization plan and initiate a sale of the team.

The league said Dodgers' Frank McCourt Jr. is attempting to cause the team to use its rights as a Chapter 11 debtor to violate its obligations to Major League Baseball. The league also said McCourt is attempting to use those rights to breach contractual obligations to Fox Sports by selling future telecast rights to the highest bidder, whether or not that bidder is approved by the league.

Major League Baseball team the Los Angeles Dodgers filed for bankruptcy on June 27. The Chapter 11 case number is 11-12010.

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