Large daily sues small business paper and loses

Idaho news station KTVB is reporting that the Idaho Statesman lost a lawsuit against the Idaho Business Review over the right to publish legal notices. Lawyers for the Idaho Statesman argued that the paper had the exclusive right to publish legal notices placed by non-government entities simply because it had the largest circulation in the area.

The battle centered on notices placed by non-government entities.  The Statesman said the law applied to all legal notices, while the Business Review said that any notice placed by businesses and private individuals could run in either paper – or both.

 The legal battle went all the way to the state's highest court, which sided with the smaller Idaho Business Review: "Supreme Court Justices said a clause in the state’s constitution means the Business Review can charge for legal notices because of the way the law’s title was written."
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