Orioles-Nats dispute set for July 12 court arguments
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge has set July 12 for oral arguments in the long-running dispute between the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles over money from the cable channel they jointly own,
Supreme Court Justice Joel M. Cohen on Friday accepted the schedule proposed by the teams.
Washington wants Cohen to confirm an April 15 decision by Major League Baseball’s Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee awarding the Nationals $296.8 million from the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network for the team’s television rights for 2012-16.
Baltimore asked Cohen to put the matter on hold until the New York Court of Appeals hears the Orioles’ challenge to a New York Supreme Court Appellate Division decision in 2017 that sent the dispute back to the RSDC for a rehearing. The RSDC’s original 2014 decision was thrown out by a New York court because a law firm representing the Nationals also had represented teams of RSDC members.
MASN was established in March 2005 after the Montreal Expos relocated to Washington and became the Nationals, moving into what had been Baltimore’s exclusive broadcast territory since 1972. The teams share ownership but the Orioles have a controlling interest.
