Why is Village Voice Media suing the owners of East Bay Express?”
The newspaper chain that owns SF Weekly is suing the independent owners of the East Bay Express for $500,000 in a case that, ironically, shows how the big media outfit is trying to duck its own debts. The lawsuit comes out of the 2007 deal under which Steve Buel, Hal Brody and a few other investors bought the Express from Village Voice Media, the national alternative press chain that owns the Weekly and 14 other papers. As part of the deal, the local owners put up an undisclosed amount in cash and agreed to pay VVM $500,000 two years later. Buel, the longtime editor of the Express, and Brody, who formerly owned a weekly in Kansas City, had to guarantee the half-million-dollar note with their personal assets. The sales agreement was a bit complicated. VVM owned both the SF Weekly and the Express, and the two papers had been selling joint ad buys to clients. So divorcing that partnership, and allowing the newly independed Express to compete effectively in the market, required some unusua
The newspaper chain that owns SF Weekly is suing the independent owners of the East Bay Express for $500,000 in a case that, ironically, shows how the big media outfit is trying to duck its own debts. The lawsuit comes out of the 2007 deal under which Steve Buel, Hal Brody and a few other investors bought the Express from Village Voice Media, the national alternative press chain that owns the Weekly and 14 other papers. As part of the deal, the local owners put up an undisclosed amount in cash and agreed to pay VVM $500,000 two years later. Buel, the longtime editor of the Express, and Brody, who formerly owned a weekly in Kansas City, had to guarantee the half-million-dollar note with their personal assets. The sales agreement was a bit complicated. VVM owned both the SF Weekly and the Express, and the two papers had been selling joint ad buys to clients. So divorcing that partnership, and allowing the newly independed Express to compete effectively in the market, required some unusua
An entity controlled by Village Voice Media, the newspaper chain that formerly owned the East Bay Express, has filed suit against two of the Express’ current owners, Hal Brody and Stephen Buel, claiming that they owe $500,000 as part of the 2007 deal in which the paper went independent. According to the suit filed in federal court in Oakland by Eastbay Express Publishing LP, an entity controlled by Village Voice Media, Brody and Buel signed a promissory note, saying they would pay the $500,000 by May 17, 2009. It was to be the final payment installment in the 2007 deal in which Village Voice Media sold the Express to Brody, Buel, and several other investors for an undisclosed sum. Brody and Buel also personally guaranteed payment of the money. But Brody said he and his business partners decided not to pay the $500,000 because they contend that Village Voice Media owes the Express more money than the Express owes them.
