Fox Sports Wins Key Ruling Against Dodgers

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Fox Sports received an early Christmas present Friday as a federal judge in Delaware temporarily halted the Los Angeles Dodgers' plan to sell TV rights to future games while he considers Fox's appeal.

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The judge, Leonard Stark, also indicated that agrees with Fox's argument that a barnkruptcy judge was wrong to allow the team to sell the lucrative rights despite Fox having certian protections in its contract with the team.

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"The court is also likely to conclude that the bankruptcy court opinion and/or order are based on one or more clearly erroneous findings of fact," Stark wrote in his opinion granting Fox's request for an emergency stay, as reported by the AP.

Attorneys for Dodgers owner Frank McCourt had argued that delaying his efforts to sell lucrative TV and other media rights could significantly harm his effort to finalize a sale of the entire team by the April 20 deadline imposed by a settlement between Major League Baseball and the Dodgers.

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Fox's full appeal will be heard by the judge at a hearing scheduled to take place Jan. 12.

Email: Matthew.Belloni@thr.com
Twitter: @THRMattBelloni