According to an article in the Tampa Bay Business Journal, the late Marion Pointer’s trust filed a lawsuit against the Tampa Bay Times, claiming that the newspaper had $7.1 million outstanding debt.
“According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Virginia on March 25, the Times failed to meet the repayment terms outlined in the 2018 settlement,” reported Tampa Bay Business Jural. “The settlement followed previous lawsuits over $7.8 million in loans, which required a monthly payment of $60,000 per hour. Since July 2020, the newspapers are said to have made inconsistent partial payments.”
Marion Pointer, widow of Times founder Nelson Pointer, passed away in 2024. Her trust is now represented by trustee and lawyer Mark F. Heisson.
In response, a Times spokesman said that during Marion Pointer’s life, the trust received about $29 million from the newspaper. The spokesman described the lawsuit as “unfortunate” and expressed his hopes for a friendly resolution.
The lawsuit comes at a time of economic struggle for Pulitzer Prize-winning newspapers 140 years ago, which announced the layoffs in August 2024. This marked the second round of layoffs since 2020 as they are trying to cut salaries by 20% due to lower revenues.
