Judge Orders Altice USA to Maintain "Status Quo" Staffing at News 12 in Lawsuit
NEW YORK, Feb. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In a court order dated February 13, 2019, the Honorable Joseph R. Slights III, Judge, Court of Chancery, State of Delaware, ordered Altice USA to maintain "Status Quo" staffing levels at News 12 for the remainder of the lawsuit and scheduled trial for September 4 - 6, announced the Dolan Family.
The ruling prohibits Altice from reducing positions for News 12 staff until the matter is resolved by the Court. The order states, "During the pendency of this Action in this Court, Altice shall not terminate any News 12 employee other than (i) for actual, bona fide cause or (ii) after first obtaining prior permission from the Court."
In a separate action on February 13, the Court scheduled a hearing for April 22 regarding the Altice USA motion to dismiss the case. Plaintiffs note that the motion to dismiss is a routine legal maneuver frequently attempted by defendants. Plaintiffs fully anticipated the motion and will vigorously oppose it.
The Dolan v. Altice USA lawsuit contends that Altice must maintain staffing levels based on commitments it made when it acquired News 12 in 2016. Altice is no stranger to lawsuits, with records showing Altice as a party to 235 lawsuits worldwide for the three years 2016 to 2018.
Documents
A website has been created on the Dolan v. Altice lawsuit containing links to legal filings including recent Court orders, news releases, media coverage, Facebook message from Patrick Dolan to News 12 employees, as well as a letter of support from Long Island's Fair Media Council: www.dolanalticelawsuit.com
Comments by Patrick Dolan
Patrick Dolan, who was president of News 12 at the time of its sale to Altice USA, commented, "This court ruling effectively prevents Altice from laying off any current News 12 staff member unless there is a performance issue and prior approval is obtained from the court. We initiated the lawsuit to protect News 12 employees' jobs and the quality of unique hyper-local programming. This ruling is one strong step in that direction."
Background: Lawsuit Filed September 4, 2018
The lawsuit requesting to permanently enjoin Altice USA was filed September 4 in the Court of Chancery, State of Delaware by the Dolan Family against Altice USA (NYSE: ATUS) for failure to abide by promises Altice made in a 2016 merger agreement. The lawsuit also asserted equitable fraud, among other claims.
This lawsuit was filed to protect the jobs of current employees and preserve programming quality at News 12, which operates a group of local news television channels throughout New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey. The lawsuit targets Altice USA and alleges that the company ignored commitments made as part of its merger with Cablevision Systems Corporation (Cablevision). The merger of Altice and Cablevision closed in June 2016 for a value of $17.7 billion.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are: Charles Dolan, founder and former CEO, Cablevision; Helen Dolan; James Dolan, former CEO of Cablevision; Patrick Dolan, president of News 12 at the time of the sale; Colleen McVey, current employee of and news anchor with News 12 Networks; and a second long-serving anchor, Danielle Campbell.
2016 Agreement Conditions
To induce the sale of Cablevision in 2016, Altice USA agreed to operate News 12 substantially in accordance with the News 12 Business Plan through the end of 2020.
The Business Plan provided News 12 would employ full-time equivalent headcount of 462 people throughout this five-year period.
Altice expressly recognized, accepted and agreed, in adhering to the News 12 Business Plan, to incur cumulative losses of up to $60 million in the operation of News 12 over this period to maintain the network's existing employee base, as well as the quality and legacy of News 12. Altice has neither incurred such losses or maintained the employee base committed to at the time of the merger.
2016 Merger Agreement
A key provision of the 2016 merger agreement was the requirement for Altice to operate News 12 in accordance with News 12's Business Plan through at least the end of 2020 and support News 12 employees who were responsible for making the network unique among local television stations.
Altice agreed to these nonstandard provisions in a transaction of this type, because Altice knew that continuing the legacy of News 12 was an important consideration for the Dolan Family and a necessary inducement to the merger.
These covenants were so material to the merger that Cablevision intentionally disclosed these protections to public shareholders.
Altice Breached the Merger Agreement
Turning its back on its prior representations and promises, in 2017 Altice eliminated approximately 70 News 12 positions — in direct violation of News 12's agreed-upon Business Plan incorporated into the merger agreement.
Altice has since informed the Dolans that Altice is on the verge of terminating dozens more News 12 employees, including Ms. McVey and Ms. Campbell; these threatened actions by Altice would irreparably harm the quality of the local news content that News 12 creates, the livelihoods of News 12's employees, and the legacy that the Dolan Family protected through explicit merger agreement provisions.
In targeting two women anchors – both dedicated 30-year veterans of News 12 – Altice may be engaging in age and/or gender bias, as well as thinning News 12 staff.
Lawsuit Overview
Plaintiffs' lawsuit requests, in sum, that the Court enter judgment in favor of plaintiffs, enjoining Altice USA from:
Terminating employment of any current employee of News 12, other than in the ordinary course of business to replace such individual for obvious cause with another person with equivalent qualifications;
Taking any action that would cause News 12 to cease to operate in substantial compliance with the News 12 Business Plan; and
Taking any action that would, in any way, violate or breach the merger agreement.
The lawsuit further requests ordering Altice USA to operate News 12 in substantial compliance with the News 12 Business Plan through at least the year 2020.
The plea for injunctive relief targets Altice USA, because Altice ignored the commitments it made to attain its $17.7 billion merger with Cablevision.
The primary purposes of the lawsuit are to protect News 12 employees, consistent with the promises made by Altice in the merger agreement; to continue News 12's rich legacy of journalistic integrity featuring hyper-local coverage; and thus, to preserve the standing of News 12 as one of the topmost local television stations in the U.S.
About News 12
News 12 is a group of cohesive, regional cable news television channels serving nearly 3 million households in New York State, Connecticut, and New Jersey including two boroughs of New York City and most of Long Island.
News 12 provides news coverage 24 hours a day, and focuses on providing award-winning, hyper-local, in-depth news coverage that is rare in the United States, particularly with respect to the region it serves.
The Dolan Family deliberately and methodically built News 12 as the foremost hyper-local news source for the edification of Long Island, Bronx, Brooklyn, and other communities.
Due to the pre-merger journalistic freedom provided by Cablevision's ongoing financial support, the employees of News 12 were able to pursue important stories addressing significant local issues relevant to millions of individuals residing in the coverage area.
No news station would have otherwise had the resources to uncover and report these vital stories.
News 12 was and is of singular importance to the Dolan Family, News 12's employees, and the viewers within News 12's coverage community.
About Altice
Altice USA (NYSE: ATUS) is a Delaware corporation. Altice Europe is a Dutch company. Altice Europe is successor in interest to Altice N.V., and thereby bound to the terms of the 2016 merger agreement.
Altice USA is one of the largest broadband communications and video service providers in the United States, delivering broadband, pay television, telephony services, proprietary content and advertising services to approximately 4.9 million residential and business customers across 21 states through its Optimum and Suddenlink brands.
About the Lawsuit
A website has been created on the Dolan v. Altice lawsuit containing links to legal filings including the recent Court order, news releases, media coverage, a Facebook message from Patrick Dolan to News 12 employees, as well as a letter of support from Long Island's Fair Media Council can be visited at: www.dolanalticelawsuit.com
SOURCE The Dolan Family
Related Links
http://www.dolanalticelawsuit.com
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