The court verdict ordering Tribune Publishing to pay $7.13 million to former Los Angeles Times sports columnist T.J. Simers was referenced early in a previously scheduled Thursday morning Tribune Publishing call with analysts concerning the company’s third-quarter financial performance. CEO Jack Griffin said the company is planning to appeal but is taking a $5 million charge, which would impact third-quarter earnings by as much as 20 cents per share. So the third-quarter loss of $3.4 million will rise to $8.4 million when results are restated.
The lawsuit was decided Wednesday, as reported by the L.A. Times:
The Los Angeles Superior Court jury of eight women and four men deliberated for two days. Foreman Orie McLemore said afterward that the panel could not reconcile Simers’ history of positive performance reviews with The Times’ response to the ethics violation, which involved taking away his column but keeping him on staff as a reporter.
Correction: This story originally stated that the lawsuit would impact fourth-quarter earnings instead of third-quarter earnings.