No Quick Decision on Dodgers Vendor Contract

Merchadiser FMI has an exclusive contract with the Dodgers that runs through 2017

The Dodgers' bankrupcty case continued Tuesday with a request from the team's souvenir vendor to move things along.

Special Section: The Changeup | "Frankruptcy" Shirts Fit Mood of Fans

But this case isn't going to be rushed.

A judge denied the request to force the Dodgers to decide quickly on whether the team will maintain its contract with Facility Merchandising Inc. Click here for a look at some of the company's Dodgers products.

FMI argued that the company needs to know soon whether the team will keep it under an exclusive contract that runs through 2017. The company said that decision should be made before FMI makes more royalty payments to the team for this year and investory purchases for next season.

The Dodgers argued that FMI refused to comply with contract terms. Team attorneys said it would be unfair to force the team to decide before its reorganization plan is set whether it wants to keep or reject the contract.

Like infield dirt through the hour-glass, these are the bankruptcy proceedings of the Dodgers. The team filed for bankruptcy protection on June 27, blaming Major League Baseball for refusing a week earlier to approve a multibillion-dollar TV deal with Fox Sports that McCourt was counting on to keep the troubled franchise afloat and meet payroll deadlines at the end of June.

Selig's rejection of the TV deal came after he took the extraordinary step in April of assuming control of the troubled franchise and appointing a monitor to oversee its day-to-day operations, saying he was concerned about the team's finances and how the Dodgers were being run. His decision also effectively nullified the McCourts' property-division settlement, which anticipated approval of the TV deal.

That set up a July hearing at which the Dodgers and Major League Baseball squared off over a financing arrangement. The team wanted approval of a $150 million financing arrangement that MLB challenged with a financing offer of its own.

The judge rejected the Los Angeles Dodgers' proposed financing plan, a decision that forced owner Frank McCourt to negotiate a financing plan with Major League Baseball.
 

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