By Rachel Scharf
A New York state court judge declined Tuesday to squeeze additional payments from the Baltimore Orioles and Mid-Atlantic Sports Network while the state’s top court reviews their US$105 million arbitration loss to the Washington Nationals, but cautioned he won’t stand for any “game playing” if the award is affirmed.
In a ruling from the bench, New York Supreme Court Justice Joel M. Cohen denied the Nationals’ bid to add US$23 million in post-judgment interest to the escrow account holding long-contested revenue distributions from MASN, the regional sports network shared by the Nationals and Orioles.
The Nationals had argued they need financial assurance that MASN — which is under the Orioles’ control — will be able to pay the entire US$105 million judgment, plus interest, if the New York Court of Appeals upholds the Orioles’ arbitration loss before Major League Baseball’s Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee.
The judge turned down the request, noting US$23 million is “an awful lot of money in escrow” and he’s “sensitive” to concerns that tying up this cash would make it difficult for the Orioles to operate MASN.
But Justice Cohen issued a warning in response to the Nationals’ argument that the Orioles and MASN might attempt to delay or avoid paying post-judgment interest if the Court of Appeals does ultimately affirm the award.
“I’m relying on what I take to be assurances that there’s not going to be any game playing at the end of this case,” the judge said. “I will still be here when that happens, and I will remember this day if the respondents start arguing that post-judgment interest is not automatic.”
Reached for comment after the hearing Tuesday, counsel for the Orioles and MASN told Law360 they’re pleased with Justice Cohen’s decision.
“The Orioles are a good steward of MASN and will continue to prudently manage MASN,” said Thomas Sosnowski of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP. “The Nationals offered no economic evidence of any collectibility issue to the court, and there is none.”
When asked about Justice Cohen’s warning, Sosnowski said he disagrees with the Nationals’ “unfounded” speculation that the Orioles and MASN would attempt to dodge their interest obligations.
“The Orioles and MASN have complied, and will comply, with all orders of the court,” he said.
Counsel for the Nationals did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Orioles and Nationals, which respectively own 80 per cent and 20 per cent of MASN, have been fighting since 2011 over the distribution of broadcast revenue. The Nationals initially prevailed in 2014, but the award was later scrapped due to concerns the MLB-run RSDC panel was prejudiced in the team’s favor.
The RSDC issued another award in favor of the Nationals following a second arbitration in 2019. Justice Cohen confirmed the judgment later that year, over protests from the Orioles and MASN that their fairness concerns had not been remedied the second time around.
The New York’s First Judicial Department affirmed Justice Cohen’s ruling in 2020 and the Court of Appeals agreed to take up the case this past September. Oral arguments have not yet been scheduled.
The Nationals are represented by Stephen R. Neuwirth, Kathryn Bonacorsi and Ian Weiss of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP.
The Orioles and MASN are represented by Thomas H. Sosnowski and Jonathan D. Schiller of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP.
The case is TCR Sports Broadcasting Holding LLP v. WN Partner LLC et al., case number 0652044/2014, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York.
–Additional reporting by Mike Curley and Frank G. Runyeon. Editing by Lakshna Mehta.
