US: Animation studios move against lawsuit

Since 2009, several of the major animation studios have been investigated about anti-poaching practices and, in 2010, the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched its own investigation into the allegations. Now, several studios are petitioning for a complete dismissal of one lawsuit say reports.Several lawsuits were consolidated since September readdressing the same issue, this time directed at The Walt Disney Company, Sony, Blue Sky Studios and DreamWorks Animation.

In Friday’s request for dismissal, the defendants stated that the new allegations are too late and that the statute of limitations has passed for the recent lawsuit. Additionally, they state that the allegations are non-specific and even showed multiple situations in which the defendants, specifically Sony, showed strong competitive hiring practices. The defendants also made allegations against the law firm of Cohen Milstein claiming that the law firm took its stance after the judge had rejected the settlement of $325 million in the similar class action suit against Apple and Google.

The dismissal request is scheduled to be heard on March 26 by US District Judge Lucy Koh.The DOJ’s investigation ended with several companies agreeing to a prohibition against enforcing anti-poaching pacts for five years and authorities decided to not prosecute. In 2011, a class action lawsuit was filed against Pixar, Lucasfilm, Adobe, Inuit, Google and Apple claiming the companies had a non-solicitation agreement. Pixar and Lucasfilm settled for $9 million each, while the remaining defendants have appealed after a judge decided that a joint settlement of $325 million was insufficient.

Full Content: The Hollywood Reporter

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