This is a strange one folks. And it's a big enough issue for Citadel that COO Judy Ellis made a trip to Alabama to address the matter so you can bet Lew Dickey and company keeping at least one eye on this one. Popular sports talker Paul Finebaum has filed a lawsuit against Citadel, the company he is currently working for. The Paul Finebaum Show airs from 2-9 p.m. weekdays on WJOX-FM. People in the market tell Radio Ink Finebaum is claiming Citadel is not paying him according to the contract both sides signed. The Birmingham Business Journal is reporting the dollar amount in question is $75,000. Finebaum's contract takes him through 2013, however, there's also word he does not have a non-compete. It makes you wonder if there's a possibility he may want to jump to another station and if he can proved he's not getting paid he can declare the contract invalid.
But what makes this issue even more wacky is that the details of the case were sealed by a judge and that move is highly unusual. Atlanta employment law litigator for Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice Bill Long told Radio Ink "I know the federal judges here are loathe to have cases filed under seal, have set up Draconian procedures that have to be met to allow sealing, and usually, in civil cases, only allow it when trade secret type information is involved." Thursday afternoon, a federal judge ordered the case be made public, but the contents of the court filing remain under seal. Attorneys have until noon Friday to redact portions of the filing before the public can get a look. We contacted Finebaum's attorney Russ Campbell who said "Although the Judge has lifted the seal, we are not likely to have a comment in the near future. We will do our talking in the context of the litigation."
Another weird element in this story is that Finebaum and the WJOX-FM General Manager Bill Thomas are fiends, which may explain the lack of non-compete. Thomas sent us a statement last night. ?Citadel has a positive and productive relationship with Paul. Our relationship will not change because of his legal filings. I personally have considered him a friend since the 1980?s, bringing him to WERC in the 1990?s, advising him during his negotiations with Citadel in 2007, and then joining him at Citadel in 2010 on his recommendation. I feel very confident that the actions of Citadel and its employees with respect to Paul have been appropriate, and I expect that to be demonstrated if his lawsuit continues. Paul is an important part of the best sports talk line-up in the South and we look forward to him fulfilling his contract with Citadel through January 2013. ?We are very mindful of the fact that radio is a locally focused business, and we remain committed to serving our local listeners and advertisers by bringing them the most popular radio personalities in the area, including Paul. The last two football seasons in Alabama have brought WJOX-FM a lot of national attention, and the season that starts next week should be no exception. We look forward to continuing our long and mutually beneficial relationship with Paul and expanding the Paul Finebaum Radio Network.?
Citadel Corporate directed us to their attorney James Mitchell who did not return an e-mail last night.
Add a Comment Send This Story To A Friend
