In the latest installment of the ongoing Bally Sports saga, Sinclair Broadcast Group now appears to be threatening to evict Diamond Sports Group from its offices.
On top of all of the other issues Diamond is currently dealing with, including filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year, the subsidiary of Sinclair is also suing its parent company. Sinclair has responded to that lawsuit now, and in addition to refuting the claims, it is also now suggesting it is time for Diamond to leave offices leased by Sinclair.
As noted by Awful Announcing, Sinclair argues in a new court filing that it is “under no contractual or legal obligation to continue allowing the Debtors to occupy Sinclair leased office space.” As there is no obligation, according to Sinclair, “the Debtors have no entitlement to continue occupying Sinclair offices.”
On top of threatening Diamond with eviction, Sinclair also wants the subsidiary to pay $147 million for unpaid management services. If Diamond is unable, or refuses, to pay the bill, Sinclair is asking the court to end the current management services agreement between the two.
Essentially, Sinclair argues that it is providing a range of services to Diamond, including legal assistance. Considering Diamond is suing Sinclair, the argument is that Sinclair is, to some degree, helping with that lawsuit. Not to mention, all while housing Diamond in offices it leases.
In its original lawsuit, Diamond accused Sinclair of spending up to $1.5 billion, which according to Diamond, could have potentially been used to help avoid bankruptcy.
Outside of the lawsuit between Diamond and Sinclair, the NHL recently issued a warning to Diamond. Basically, the NHL suggested that it may ask the courts to end its agreements with Diamond, if solid assurances are not provided soon.
DirecTV issued a similar warning recently, suggesting Diamond shouldn’t assume DirecTV will automatically renew its distribution agreement.
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