Insignia Systems v. News Corp.: Defendant Against the Ropes?

In an antitrust battle that has been pending since 2004 before U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim (D. Minn.), the market, at least, seems to think that plaintiff Minneapolis-based Insignia Systems, Inc. has the upper hand and Defendant News Corp. is against the ropes.  The media has taken notice of the substantial risk to News Corp., saying that Murdoch’s company might lose as much in this litigation as the company made with its hit movie, Avatar.

News Corp. settled a similar case brought by Michigan-based Valassis Corp. in late January.  Shares of Insignia Systems, Inc. stock shot up to a 6-year high the next day.

As is evident from Insignia Systems’ letter to the Court in late February, Insignia Systems is pushing hard toward a Spring trial and, in its view, News Corp. is pulling out all the stops to avoid “its day in court.”   On the other hand, Insignia CEO, Scott Drill, is apparently a poker player so who knows if he’s bluffing?