Warner Bros. Entertainment Victorious Against Royalty Class Action

12.2018

Irell & Manella LLP successfully defended Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. in a major industry class action alleging that participants in Warner Bros. and MGM motion pictures received improper royalty payments on the exploitation of motion pictures in home video formats including DVDs, videocassettes and electronic downloads. Four of the five studios that faced similar suits – Universal, Paramount, Sony and Fox – settled, paying between $6.8 million and $26 million, but Warner Bros. opted not to settle.

In writ proceedings, Irell convinced a three-justice panel of the California Court of Appeal for the Second District to reverse a lower court ruling sending the case to trial. The action is now slated for dismissal. The Irell team included Andrew Strabone.