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Dismissal Sought of Philadelphia Lawsuit Among Phila. Inquirer Owners

By Steve Tawa

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Dueling law firms are now representing the bickering co-owners at the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, who have filed lawsuits in two jurisdictions -- Philadelphia, where the newspapers are headquartered, and Delaware, where the parent company is incorporated.

Ten lawyers marched single-file into a judge's chambers today for private, closed-door talks, after which in open court the judge said only that she would hear arguments next week on where the case should be heard.

All of the lawyers, save one, left with no comment.

The internal feud became public when co-owners Gerry Lenfest and Lewis Katz filed a suit against the parent company and publisher Robert Hall, after he fired Inquirer editor Bill Marimow (see related story).

William Chadwick, representing Marimow, says Hall's action was "an attempt to smear" Marimow, whom he called "a Pulitizer prize-winning journalist with a national reputation who was lured from a comfortable position in the academic world to run the Inquirer with promises of journalistic independence."

Chadwick is asking the judge for a preliminary injunction to restore Marimow's position.  Lenfest and Katz also want Hall removed.

George Norcross, a co-owner representing the opposing faction, has filed a countersuit in Delaware.

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