Inquirer Owners Suing Inquirer Publisher

Just when you thought the bizarre management situation at the Philadelphia Inquirer couldn’t get any more heated, this happens: Lewis Katz and H.G. “Gerry” Lenfest, two of the three managing partners who own the Inky, the Daily News, and Philly.com, are suing their own publisher Robert Hall, claiming he overstepped his authority in firing editor-in-chief Bill Marimow earlier this week.

The complaint, filed in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court by H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest and Lewis Katz, calls for a judge to immediately reinstate Marimow to his post and hold a hearing on their contract dispute….The lawsuit, filed shortly after noon, contends he took that step without authority and “in direct violation of the explicit provisions of the agreement” among the six principal owners governing operation of IGM.

Fellow managing partner George Norcross III, needless to say, is on Hall’s side on this one, and has repeatedly clashed with Katz over the direction of the newspaper. And just to make the whole matter even more juicy–guess who’s representing Katz? None other than uberlawyer Dick Sprague, who knows a thing or two about litigation involving the city’s two dailies. [Inquirer]