Macfadden Holdings lost a round in court.

Reliance Capital Group said U.S. District Judge Shirley Wohl Kram in Manhattan denied a request by Macfadden for a temporary restraining order that would have blocked Reliance from proceeding with the acquisition of John Blair & Co. However, Kram has scheduled another hearing for Friday in which Macfadden will ask that Reliance not be allowed to complete the Blair purchase, a Macfadden spokesman said. Macfadden, a closely held magazine publisher, is trying to thwart Reliance’s offer in order to revive its own hostile bid for Blair, a New York-based operator of television stations.