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News HAHN & HESSEN OBTAINS SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON BEHALF OF CLIENT SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO INC. After grant of preliminary injunction, Court awards summary judgment on declaratory relief and specific performance claims, allowing satellite radio broadcaster unimpeded access to transmission equipment at key lower Manhattan site. New York, New York, April 15, 2003 – Capping two years of proceedings in which it had earlier secured a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction that was affirmed on appeal, the law firm Hahn & Hessen LLP announced today that it had won a summary judgment decision on behalf of client Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., a national subscription-based, digital satellite radio broadcasting service. Issued after voluminous submissions on behalf of the Confucius Plaza apartment complex at which Sirius’s broadcast installation was constructed and of Sirius’s licensor and the premises’ managing agent, the New York County State Supreme Court’s summary judgment decision facilitates the continued development of a satellite radio broadcasting service in which well over $1 billion has been already invested. The litigation stems from a License Agreement that Sirius entered into with AAT Communications, a firm specializing in locating and licensing suitable space for communications facilities. Although both the License Agreement and a separate agreement entered into by AAT with the premises owner reflected that the licensing arrangement had been fully authorized by the owner and managing agent (RY Management), Sirius was repeatedly denied access to the premises in order to activate a substantially completed terrestrial repeater, rooftop-situated installation that was critical to rolling out its nationwide satellite radio service. In awarding summary judgment on Sirius’s declaratory relief and specific performance claims and in continuing a preliminary injunction, the Court rejected numerous challenges to the validity and enforceability of the License Agreement and related agreements, finding that they had been entered into with the actual or apparent authority of the premises owner’s board of directors. Gratified that it marks an end to one stage of often hotly contested proceedings, Hahn & Hessen LLP senior litigation partner Steven J. Mandelsberg (who served as Sirius’s counsel in the case) noted that the Court’s award of summary relief “signifies how a court can wade through lengthy, complicated papers and still reach the correct result and avoid the additional time and expense of a protracted trial.” About Hahn & Hessen LLP Founded in 1931, Hahn & Hessen LLP is a national law firm that delivers a broad base of financial and commercial legal services. Hahn & Hessen LLP represents a wide range of clients from Fortune 500 institutions, to emerging companies, to individuals. It has received substantial recognition for its unique capabilities in those situations where the creditworthiness of a client’s existing or potential borrower, counterparty or customer is of concern. The firm’s core practice areas are: insolvency and restructurings; commercial finance transactions, including working Additional Information For additional information, or for a copy of the Court’s decision, please contact Jill Blaustein at 212-595-5110.
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