An appeals court has reinstated a nearly four-year-old case brought by ad company Viamedia that claimed Comcast monopolized the spot advertising market by locking out certain providers from local interconnects.

Viamedia, first brought the suit in 2016 and sued for $75 million in damages, claiming that Comcast prevented it from representing advertisers in Chicago, Detroit and Hartford, Conn., by gaining control of local interconnects. According to the suit, Viamedia claimed Comcast refused to deal with it or any other company that did business with the company. Those damage claims were later increased to $160 million, which after trebling under antitrust laws and pre-judgment interest could cost Comcast as much as $500 million.  

A lower court dismissed Viamedia’s claim that Comcast refused to deal with the company in 2016, and in 2018 granted the cable operator a summary judgment with respect to Viamedia’s exclusive dealing and tying claims, which Viamedia appealed.

On Feb. 24, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed the lower court decision, adding that “Viamedia’s allegation and evidence are sufficient to state and support claims that should be presented to a jury.”

Viamedia is represented in its lawsuit by Kellogg Hansen Todd Figel & Frederick PLLC.

"We are pleased the Seventh Circuit found that our allegations and evidence are sufficient to support our antitrust claims,” Viamedia said in a statement. “This is a good day for the Viamedia team, our partners and for competition in our industry. We look forward to the opportunity to present our case to a jury and be compensated for the substantial damages to the company, as well as seek remedies that will restore Interconnects as the inclusive marketplaces they were intended to be.”

In a statement, Comcast said it was disappointed with the court’s decision and is evaluating its options.

“While we are still reviewing the decision, we are disappointed with the panel’s reversal of the lower court’s very thorough and well-reasoned decision, which was based on a careful examination of the record and the appropriate application of longstanding antitrust law,” Comcast said in its statement. “We think today’s decision reflects a misunderstanding of the facts and a misapplication of the law, and we are considering all of our options.”

Independent cable TV ad management company Viamedia held Friday (Feb. 24) that its antitrust complaint against Comcast and its Spotlight ad unit is “moving forward” after a judge granted a request by Comcast to dismiss a portion of the lawsuit.

Viamedia’s complaint, filed  the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division, alleges that Comcast has unlawfully impeded Viamedia and other spot cable ad sales companies' ability to compete with Spotlight. Viamedia claims that Comcast has abused its controlling stake in NCC and a regional cable interconnect spot sales cooperative to thwart competition and force spot cable advertisers to use Spotlight instead of Viamedia or others. The complaint is focused on Chicago and Detroit, where Comcast runs regional cable ad sales.

RELATED: Viamedia Sues Comcast Over Claims of Spot Ad Dominance

Comcast has previously countered that the ad market is “robustly competitive” and that all MVPDs account for only about 7% of local advertising sales, and that nearly half of the interconnects in the top 50 DMAs, nearly half of the interconnects for local cable advertising, including those in New York and Los Angeles, aren’t run by Comcast.

According to reports, including this one from the Cook County Record, U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve on Wednesday (Feb. 22) granted a request by Comcast to dismiss a portion of the lawsuit, finding that Comcast’s actions. Law 360 reports that the decision addresses only the “refusal to deal” aspect of the case, while the other claims raised by Viamedia are ongoing.

RELATED: Judge Won't Dismiss Viamedia Claims Against Comcast

In a statement on the case,  Viamedia held that its “antitrust claims for tying and exclusive dealing are moving ahead because Viamedia has plausibly alleged that Comcast is violating federal and state antitrust and tort laws by forcing competing satellite and cable TV providers to deal directly with Comcast if they want to advertise in regional markets…”

Viamedia said it is seeking damages of “not less than $75 million” adding that the case is also subject to trebling under the antitrust statute, and arguing that Comcast “thus faces potential liability in the hundreds of millions of dollars.” Viamedia also said the court has ordered that all discovery and dispositive motions for the case be completed by the end of Q3 2017.