A New York appeals court ruled Thursday in favor of the Nationals in a dispute with Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, upholding a $100 million award for the team.
Thursday’s decision is the latest twist in a years-long legal dispute between the two teams over TV rights.
In 2014, a Major League Baseball revenue-sharing committee ruled for the Nationals, only to see the ruling vacated in New York court on the grounds that MLB had a conflict of interest (Washington was represented by the same law firm that had represented MLB.)
The court sent the dispute back to MLB to begin the process anew and last year MLB again ruled in favor of the Nationals, a decision that was affirmed in New York State Court in August and now again on appeal.
“We reject petitioner’s arguments that the [revenue sharing committee] otherwise violated its obligations, exceeded its powers or denied petitioner a fair hearing,” the court wrote.
As for a timeline for a final resolution for the dispute, the New York appellate court is expected to decide by early next year if it will hear MASN’s latest appeal. If the court hears the case, it could be another year before it reaches a decision, which could then be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court by either party. The Orioles could also make a separate challenge to the amount of the award.
At stake is about $20 million in additional rights fees from 2012 through 2016. The Nationals say they were owed $296.8 million from MASN for those years, whereas the network disbursed $197.5 million over that time.
“The Orioles and MASN believe the evidence shows that MLB’s [revenue sharing committee] is not a fundamentally fair and neutral forum for this dispute,” MASN attorney Thomas Sosnowski wrote in a statement. “The Orioles and MASN intend to appeal the Appellate Division’s decision to the New York Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court.”
