Court Upholds Loews Contract With Fandango

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in New York upheld an exclusive online-ticketing contract between Fandango Inc. of Los Angeles and the Loews-Cineplex Entertainment chain of movie theaters.

The ruling is an important victory for Fandango in its battle against archrival AOL Moviefone, a subsidiary of AOL Time Warner Inc. In Loews-Cineplex’s bankruptcy proceedings and in a separate lawsuit, Fandango has accused Moviefone of trying to lure away the theater chain, which was one of the founding partners of Fandango and remains a minority owner.

Fandango also announced that Edgar Bronfman Jr., vice chairman of Paris-based Vivendi Universal, is joining its board of directors and becoming a minority investor.