By Tim Redmond

Twelve former employees of a Cleveland alternative paper have filed a class-action suit in Ohio against the publisher of the SF Weekly and Village Voice Media, alleging that they were fired illegally when the two newspaper chains conspired to shut down the paper.

The class-action suit, filed in the Ohio Court of Common Pleas Aug. 9, comes in the wake of a deal between New Times and VVM that ended alternative-newspaper competition in Los Angeles and Cleveland. It's the latest legal salvo in a story that has attracted national attention and raised serious issues about the consolidation of ownership in the alternative press.

New Times and VVM had been fighting for advertising and market share in the two cities until Oct. 2, 2002, when the companies announced an unusual agreement: New Times agreed to shutter its New Times LA, and in exchange, VVM agreed to close the Cleveland Free Times. That gave both companies a monopoly in the market: the Cleveland Scene, a New Times publication, became the only alternative weekly in that city, and the LA Weekly, owned by VVM, had Los Angeles to itself [“New Times Nailed,” 01/29/03”].

In the process, many employees of the Free Times and New Times LA lost their jobs (although some were transferred to other papers in the chains).

The Justice Department and the attorneys general of Ohio and California charged the two chains with violating the Sherman Antitrust Act, and on Jan. 27, 2003, New Times and VVM agreed to terminate the illegal scheme and sell the assets of the closed papers to qualified buyers who could reenter the markets. The Free Times is now back in business under new ownership, and three new alternative weeklies are taking on VVM in L.A.

But according to Cleveland lawyer David A. Young, the workers who were fired when the two papers closed their doors were terminated illegally. Both Ohio and California allow workers who lose their jobs as the result of an illegal act by their employers to sue for damages, he told us.

"It's a slam-dunk violation," he said. "Both companies admit the deal to close the papers was unlawful."

Young is seeking class-action certification, which would allow him to represent as many as 100 former New Times and VVM employees who he estimates may have been affected by the deal. The damages, he said, could be "well into the millions of dollars."

Young, who specializes in labor law, said the behavior of VVM and New Times was "typical of what's wrong with corporate America. They have no regard for their employees."

New Times owns 11 alternative weeklies, including the SF Weekly and the East Bay Express. VVM owns six.

David Eden, former editor-in-chief of the Cleveland Free Times and currently managing editor of Cleveland's CBS affiliate, WOIO-TV, e-mailed us a statement outlining his complaint: "Two years ago New Times and Village Voice Media colluded to swap markets so each could have a monopoly alternative newspaper in Cleveland and Los Angeles. That action, which violated U.S. and state antitrust laws, caused about 50 people to lose their jobs in Cleveland, some of whom lost their homes, had their savings wiped out and caused other havoc in their lives. This is their chance ... our chance ... for justice to be done."

New Times executive editor Michael Lacey, chief executive office Jim Larkin, and legal counsel Steve Suskin did not respond to our requests for comment. VVM released a statement saying, "Village Voice Media believes this suit is without merit and intends to defend it vigorously."