Times columnist on the lawsuit

Times columnist Dan Neil and Phillip Gregory, one of the attorneys representing the employees' lawsuit, was interviewed Friday on KPFK's "Deadline L.A." Listen to it here.

"We want Zell and the Board removed," said Neil. "We want an independent accounting of the company's finances, especially with regard to the pension and we want a say in the future direction of the paper." The lawsuit also seeks return of employee assets.

Asked why he signed on as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, Neil said he isn't worried about his own situation, that he and his family will be okay. "What's the worse he [Zell] can do, fire me?" Neil became "more and more infuriated" with what he saw as "the rampant mismanagement by the company."

Lawsuits can take years before a judgement is made. Gregory said that to move the case along quickly, the suit was filled in federal court where it would go before a single judge who could then move to "get the class certified so that the parties suing can effectively represent all employees who belong to the class that the suit is filed on behalf of."

Neil said people are "very encouraged by the suit, if for no practical or legal reason, they just like the idea that somebody is finally pushing back against Zell."