TV station may return to district

KOCE-TV, the public television station that has been embedded in a court battle for nearly three years, may soon return to the Coast Community College District, which sold it in 2004 to boost funds for academic programs.

This month, attorneys for the district, the KOCE-TV Foundation and the Daystar Television Network are looking to appoint a mediator to help unravel the dispute over KOCE’s ownership. The district, which had owned the channel for decades, sold it to the foundation mostly on credit, but Daystar sued shortly afterward, arguing that its cash bid was higher and made it the rightful owner.

Now, with an appellate court decision in May voiding the sale to the foundation, the college district’s attorney Milford Dahl said his client would likely end up taking the station back — and reimbursing the foundation’s $8-million down payment, which it has largely spent.

“We know we have to give that back, and we’re prepared to do that,” Dahl said.

After the appellate court’s ruling, both the district and the foundation appealed to the state Supreme Court, which declined to hear either case in August. With the May ruling still valid, the parties expect to appoint a mediator this month and enter negotiations in February.

Jerry Patterson — a trustee for the district, which includes Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa — said the parties would seek other possible outcomes through mediation but admitted that reversing the sale was the most likely one. In the event that the district had to dig into its pocket, he said, it would probably pay out of its contingency fund, which the district maintains to cover unexpected costs.

“Most often, we hope we don’t go into the contingency fund at all, but sometimes it’s necessary,” Patterson said.

In addition to resolving the money issue, the district and foundation would have to transfer a number of contracts signed with outside agencies, a task that trustee Mary Hornbuckle said would be much harder than repaying the foundation.

While the appellate court declared the KOCE sale invalid, it did not order a transfer of ownership to Daystar or mandate that the district put the station up for sale again. Daystar, a nationwide Christian broadcaster, has filed a federal lawsuit to seek the KOCE license, but attorney Cameron Totten said it would probably take a second auction to put the station in the network’s hands.

“We’re still hopeful that either through a settlement or if the station is returned to the district, the district will realize that it’s in the same position and it can’t afford to subsidize it and put it up for sale again,” he said. “We’re confident that if it puts the station up for sale again, we’ll be the highest bidder.”