By Mike Scarcella

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - Nexstar Media Group NXST.O has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block a price‑fixing lawsuit brought by DirecTV over content‑distribution fees, arguing DirecTV never paid the allegedly inflated prices.

Nexstar’s petition, made public on the Supreme Court docket on Friday, asks the justices to resolve what it described as a divide in the lower courts over whether a company can sue over claimed losses despite not having paid for a product it alleges was overpriced.

In its filing, Nexstar said DirecTV had alleged only “indirect and speculative harms” that cannot support an antitrust lawsuit.

“The decision below dramatically expands the scope of private antitrust litigation by allowing nonpurchasers to recover treble damages based on transactions that never occurred,” Nexstar told the justices.

Nexstar and DirecTV did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In the lawsuit over distribution fees, DirecTV alleged in 2023 that Nexstar and two station owners violated antitrust law by depriving it of a competitive process for rights to rebroadcast certain channels in specific markets.

The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in December ruled 2-1 that DirecTV could pursue its antitrust claims based on its allegations of lost profits when it was unable to distribute those channels. The court’s order reversed a lower court judge’s decision that dismissed DirecTV’s lawsuit.

The stakes extend beyond the broadcasting industry, Nexstar told the Supreme Court.

The 2nd Circuit order, Nexstar said, “has exposed sellers to sweeping liability” and could threaten to subject defendants to “coercive settlement pressure divorced from any concrete market injury.”

Separately, the litigation at the Supreme Court comes as Nexstar tries to convince a U.S. appeals court in California to undo a federal judge’s order halting the company’s merger with rival broadcaster Tegna. DirecTV is a plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging the merger.

The case is Nexstar Media Group Inc et al v. DirecTV LLC, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 25-1243

For Nexstar: Lauren Zehmer of Covington & Burling

For DirecTV: No appearance yet

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