Celador International, Ltd. v. The Walt Disney Company
Robins Kaplan represented Celador International, Ltd. in a dispute over profits from the highly successful television show, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" A federal jury awarded Celador, the creator of the show, $270 million in damages after finding that Disney's subsidiaries, ABC Television, Buena Vista Television, and Valleycrest Productions had breached their profit-sharing contract with Celador and their duty to deal fairly and in good faith with Celador. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California awarded $50 million in prejudgment interest to Celador, bringing the total to $320 million in damages.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals then affirmed the entire verdict and awarded the plaintiff its costs on appeal. Finally, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously denied Disney’s petition for rehearing and review of the $320 million jury verdict and judgment in favor of Celador, the largest profit participation case in history. The verdict and judgment were paid in full.
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