Judge orders Altitude and Comcast to court to resolve dispute

Days after approving a scheduling order presented by the parties that wouldn’t see the case go to motions and/or trial until well into 2023 (and yet another lost season for many Avalanche and Nuggets fans), the judge in the case has ordered Altitude and Comcast to appear before the court next month (Dec. 16 at 2:00 p.m.) to discuss, “efforts made by the parties to resolve this matter, as well as the prospects for future settlement negotiations.”

The latest order from the court could be a sign the judge’s patience is wearing in a case where he already made the likely outcome pretty clear in a previous ruling. As I laid out in an article earlier this year, the judge had essentially dismissed all of Altitude’s claims that it could at that stage of the process and indicated it would likely dismiss the rest at the appropriate stage unless Altitude pulled a legal “rabbit out of the hat” so to speak. At the very next hearing, as if the written ruling wasn’t clear enough, the court specifically said it assumed parties would start talking about resolution based on that ruling.

Since then, not much has happened. Altitude updated their lawsuit throwing the “kitchen sink” at Comcast, appearing to hope a claim or two might stick. The two sides have fought over when Altitude’s expert witness will be allowed to do business against Comcast in the future. An attorney or two has withdrawn from the case. A few days ago, they set the deadlines well off into the future.

It appears that there has been no sense of urgency whatsoever by either side to resolve this case and get the Avalanche and Nuggets back on the air for most of us. It’s just a hunch, but I’m guessing the judge will be asking some pretty tough questions on Dec. 16. Perhaps there is light at the end of the tunnel for Avs and Nuggets fans after all.

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