9th Circuit rejects
Gannett request for
reconsideration

Three judges say no to
rehearing by a larger panel

By Star-Bulletin staff

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will not consider again an appeal by Gannett Pacific Corp. related to the planned closure of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin

In a terse order issued yesterday, a three-judge panel denied Gannett's petition for a rehearing by a larger panel of the federal court.

The three judges issuing the denial were the same ones who upheld U.S. District Judge Alan Kay's Oct. 13 ruling that barred the shutdown.

U.S. Circuit Judges J. Clifford Wallace, Jerome Farris and Thomas G. Nelson ruled Kay did not abuse his discretion in granting a preliminary injunction against Gannett, owner of the Honolulu Advertiser, and Liberty Newspapers, owner of the Star-Bulletin.

The state had sued the two companies and sought the injunction after Gannett and Liberty announced they were ending a joint operating agreement and were going to cease publication of the Star-Bulletin on Oct. 30.

The state alleged their agreement violated state and federal antitrust laws and amounted to a conspiracy to monopolize general circulation newspapers on Oahu.

The three appeals judges upheld Kay's ruling until the lower court can decide whether to grant a permanent injunction. The trial in U.S. District Court in Honolulu is set for Sept. 21.

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