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If the federal courts gave out combat medals, Orlando businessman Joseph Rey would be a Bronze Star winner--with a couple of oak-leaf clusters. Rey and his company, Rainbow Broadcasting, have been in a legal battle for nearly 13 years over a TV station in Orlando. Most of the issues that brought Rey to the courts long ago are moot. But the lawsuits and recriminations continue nonetheless, exploding every few months like landmines buried in a war-torn landscape. Now, the fallout threatens the careers of two top Federal Communications officials as well as the reputation of a onetime candidate for the FCC chairmanship.
What follows is the story of a legal brawl that has become a cautionary tale of what can happen when two competitors make the courts their primary battleground.
Scene 1, Washington and Orlando: Rey was granted a construction permit in 1984 for channel 65, Orlando. The permit was held up until 1990 by a challenge that went to the Supreme Court, which upheld minority preferences in the assignment of TV licenses (Rey is a Cuban emigre)--an issue that recent legislative changes have made irrelevant. So the story of Rey's station, WRBW-TV, actually started in court, you could say. And the way things are...