An appeals court in San Francisco today ruled in favor of KPIX in the station’s long-simmering legal battle with two former reporters.

After having their age discrimination lawsuit against the CBS O&O dismissed at the beginning of last year, Bill Schechner and John Lobertini have continued to fight, but their case suffered a significant blow as the appeals court concluded that the pair of former KPIX reporters failed to show enough evidence that the station singled out their age as the reason for laying them off in 2008. Read more

An attorney for former KPIX reporters Bill Schechner (pictured) and John Lobertini tried to persuade a federal appeals court yesterday that an age discrimination case brought against the station should be allowed to go to a jury.

Schechner and Lobertini allege that the station used a round of layoffs to dismiss older employees. Five on-camera staffers, all of whom were over 47 years old, were laid off at once by the CBS O&O in March 2008. Last month, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit.

Carolyn Salmon, who represents the two reporters in their case, argued in front of a three-judge panel yesterday that the case should be heard by a jury. The judges “seemed skeptical that the two men could prove bias,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Prosecutors in Sacramento have decided not to pursue criminal charges against two people accused of attacking a KTXL news crew earlier this year.

In February, reporter John Lobertini and photographer Rebecca Little were covering a vigil being held for a young man who had been shot and killed outside of a local IHOP when they were approached by a group of angry mourners.

One relative of the deceased man took a swing at Lobertini while another pulled Little to the ground by her hair.

The incident was captured on video but the Sacramento district attorney ultimately decided that the case was not worth bringing to trial (video above).

A KTXL news crew was attacked on Sunday as they approached a group mourning the death of a young man who was shot and killed this weekend outside of an IHOP.

Friends and family of the murdered man gathered near the IHOP on Sunday, and reporter John Lobertini and photojournalist Rebecca Little of KTXL arrived in the afternoon to see if anyone was willing to talk about the tragic death.

The mourners’ sadness quickly turned to anger as Lobertini and Little approached. Little was pulled to the ground by her hair and kicked. Lobertini was mobbed and punched in the face (raw video from KXTV above).

“This is one of the hazards of the business but we didn’t expect what we encountered,” Lobertini said. Read more

A federal judge has dismissed an age discrimination suit brought against San Francisco’s KPIX by two former employees.

Reporters Bill Schechner and John Lobertini filed a lawsuit against the CBS O&O after they were laid off, alleging that station management used a round of belt-tightening to dismiss older employees.

Schechner (left) was 66 and Lobertini (far left) was 47 when the station sent them walking in 2008.  They were two of five employees laid off at the time and they used the fact that all five were over 47 as the foundation of their lawsuit.

In July, Schechner and Lobertini’s suit was struck a major blow when U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ruled that their claims did not prove that they were individually targeted because of their age.

In her July ruling, Patel ripped into Schechner’s claim that he had earlier been replaced as a weekend anchor because he was old.  Read more