A year ago, the Denver Film Society announced it would join an antitrust lawsuit against Landmark Theatres; the indie film giant responded with a request for the case to be dismissed. Today, October 1, just weeks before the Denver Film Festival opens, the Film Society announced that part of Landmark’s request has been denied, and the case will continue on in the courts.

The Denver Film Society, the nonprofit that runs the Sie FilmCenter, the Denver Film Festival and Film on the Rocks, is named as a plaintiff in the suit alongside the now-defunct West End Cinema and the Avalon Theatre Project in Washington, D.C., and Cinema Detroit.

The claim accuses Landmark Theatres of violating federal antitrust laws by preventing smaller arthouse theaters from screening certain films by negotiating exclusive contracts with distributors.

In a September 28 opinion, Judge Emmet Sullivan wrote that he dropped some parts of the case based on Landmark’s request, but is allowing others to continue in court.