Spanish Broadcasting System and Grupo Radio Centro have come to a confidential settlement over SBS’s lawsuit contending Grupo Radio Centro had been raiding the company’s executives and on-air talent for its “Radio Centro 93.9” KXOS Los Angeles.
SBS filed suit in February 2016 after Martin ‘El Ratón’ Romero Hernandez jumped from mornings at their “La Raza 97.9” KLAX to middays at KLAX despite being under contract until 2020 and having just started a marketing campaign built around the talent. GRC had previously brought over morning host Ricardo ‘El Mandril’ Sánchez and SBS’ VP/Corporate Sales and West Coast Market Manager Bill Shadorf and nine other employees from SBS over a 30 month stretch.
Judge Beverly Reid O’Connell ruled in May 2016 to strike down SBS’ breach of contract claim without prejudice but allowed the rest of the case to proceed.
Spanish Broadcasting System (“SBS”) (OTCXQ: SBSAA) today announced that it had reached an agreement with Grupo Radio Centro (“Grupo”) to settle the parties’ long-standing lawsuit. SBS filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit in February of 2016 immediately after Grupo hired an on-air radio personality from SBS’s KLAX-FM in Los Angeles, alleging tortious interference and unfair competition.
The settlement, the terms of which cannot be disclosed as they are protected by a confidentiality provision, was reached in advance of the upcoming trial. The settlement resolves all pending legal proceedings between the parties.
“We are extremely pleased to have amicably resolved the matter,” stated SBS General Counsel Richard Lara. “As has always been its practice, SBS will not hesitate to take legal action when necessary to defend its contractual rights and business interests,” he added.
SBS owns and operates Hispanic-formatted KLAX-FM and KXOL-FM in the Los Angeles market, two of the highest-rated radio stations in Southern California.
