NY judge promises ruling in a week on TV lawsuit

NEW YORK — A judge says she’ll rule within a week whether lawsuits by broadcasters against a service that offers commercial-free TV will be heard in Los Angeles or New York.

Lawyers for broadcasters including Fox, NBC and CBS urged Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan to move the case to Los Angeles. But a lawyer for satellite TV provider Dish says it belongs in New York, where Dish sued on May 24. Dish seeks a declaration it wasn’t violating copyrights with its AutoHop ad-skipping technology.

Broadcasters attorney Richard Stone told the judge lawsuits by broadcasters were filed in Los Angeles only minutes after Dish’s lawsuit. He says Dish can’t “deprive the natural plaintiffs whose rights have been violated from their choice of venue.”