Judge Presses for Newsday Settlement

MELVILLE, N.Y. -- A federal judge Thursday urged Newsday and a group of car dealers that are suing the newspaper to negotiate a settlement of the antitrust case in advance of a trial, the paper reported.

U.S. Magistrate Judge William Wall ordered both sides to consider talks in which he volunteered to serve as mediator. Attorneys for Newsday and the dealers are expected to respond to the suggestion during a telephone conference this morning.

The move came after Wall listened to more than an hour of arguments over whether he should order the paper to resume publishing the dealers' advertising, which has been rejected since July 30 in response to the suit.

Wall expressed skepticism when Newsday attorney Alan Unger repeatedly denied that the paper's refusal to accept the dealers' ads was meant to "dissuade them from pursuing the lawsuit." The judge also pressed the dealers' lawyer Leonard Bellavia for proof that they had been "irreparably harmed" by the ad ban.

-- NYSSCPA.org News Staff

Posted on 8/27/04