The 9th U.S. Court of Appeals, San Francisco, affirmed a decision...
The 9th U.S. Court of Appeals, San Francisco, affirmed a decision forcing Televisa into arbitration with DirecTV Latin America (DTVLA). At issue is a set of 3 contracts between DTVLA and Televisa that allowed Televisa to telecast some 2002…
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World Cup soccer matches. The court said the agreement directed Televisa to black out games DTVLA was broadcasting. DTVLA accused Televisa of failing to comply with the blackout provision and asked the U.S. Dist. Court, L.A., to compel arbitration. Televisa protested, the court said, arguing one agreement -- the letter of intent -- contained the blackout provision and a 2nd -- the sublicense agreement) -- introduced the arbitration clause, so DTVLA couldn’t use the 2nd agreement to cover the first. The district court granted DTVLA’s motion and denied a motion by Televisa for a preliminary injunction staying arbitration. The appeals court said because the sublicense agreement was more formal and more comprehensive, covering “numerous subjects other than the blackout requirement… [t]he sublicense agreement expressly incorporates the letter agreement and Televisa’s blackout obligations.” On Televisa’s appeal of the denial of its preliminary injunction request, the court affirmed the lower court’s decision: “Televisa cannot establish a likelihood of success on or any serious questions going to the merits of its claim.”