The Signal and the Santa Clarita Gazette ended their protracted legal dispute Wednesday, according to the Gazette’s owner.

“The media discussion was quite heated,” said Gazette Publisher Doug Sutton. “We went at each other ferociously and plenty of others joined in. But the beauty of our court system is that it can bring parties together.”

The plan, which was approved by the bankruptcy court, establishes SCV Publications LLC as the owner and publisher of the Gazette and Canyon Country Magazine.

Both publications rely heavily on a loyal group of professional freelancers to produce content, according to a statement from the organizations. Neither publication anticipates staffing changes due to the announcement.

SCV Publications LLC will use the same content development model, Sutton said.

Sutton and Signal ownership engaged in the dispute after the Signal joined in a bankruptcy lawsuit to which it was not originally a party, according to Sutton in previous statements.

The Santa Clarita Gazette was seeking to become a newspaper of record so, among other reasons, it could compete with The Signal for revenue in the legal publication business.

The Santa Clarita Gazette was charging 0.55 cents per word for a legal notice; The Signal was publishing for 0.73 cents per word. Agencies are offered a discounted rate, according to The Signal.

That appears to no longer be the goal for the Gazette, according to a statement from the Signal’s publisher.

“The Gazette needed money to relieve its debt,”said Chuck Champion, Publisher of the Signal. “With the partnership, the new entity will assume some of it and then renegotiate the rest with creditors. That way the Gazette can emerge as a viable publishing concern without legal ad revenue.”

Sutton filed for a bankruptcy reorganization in 2013, and the Signal joined in the suit recently, in a reported attempt to force Sutton to liquidate his business, according to a previous statement by Sutton. Wednesday’s settlement avoids such action and allows the Suttons to retain editorial control under the new company.  

The new entity is to be jointly owned by the owners of the Signal and by Gazette publishers Doug and Jean Sutton. Under the operating agreement, the Suttons will have management and editorial control of the Gazette and Canyon Country Magazine (CCM).