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Judge sets hearing on whether to dismiss lawsuit over SL Trib’s future

Posted at 4:14 PM, Jul 21, 2014
and last updated 2014-07-21 18:14:02-04

SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge has set a Sept. 8 hearing on whether to dismiss an activist group’s lawsuit over the future of the Salt Lake Tribune.

At a hearing Monday, U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups scheduled a hearing on a motion by the parent companies of the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News to dismiss the Utah Newspaper Project’s antitrust lawsuit.

The group is suing, claiming a renegotiated joint-operating agreement between the two papers’ owners effectively dooms the Tribune.

Both the Utah Attorney General and the Justice Department have launched antitrust investigations into the deal between the LDS Church-owned Deseret News and the hedge fund that owns the Salt Lake Tribune.

Lawyers for the newspapers’ owners declined to comment to FOX 13 outside of court.