The ongoing lawsuit between AMC and former The Walking Dead showrunner Frank Darabont took another twist this week as the network requested an immediate stop on the proceedings. This paperwork was in response to an additional $10 million suit filed on January 18 by attorneys for Darabont and CAA (Creative Arts Agency).
“This Court should immediately halt proceedings in this case, rather than rule on the pending cross-motions for summary judgment,” AMC attorney Orin Snyder requested of Justice Eileen Bransten, “Their new allegations are a ‘heads I win, tails you lose’ strategy — no matter how this Court rules, they will attempt to retry the case all over again.”
MXDWN originally covered when the suit was filed by Darabont and CAA back in 2013. Documents claim that AMC misrepresented how much Darabont’s 12.5 percent of profit actually generated based on “a license fee formula that guarantees that the series will remain grossly in deficit, and that fails to account for the series’ success.” Darabont was released from the show during the second season (in 2011) for reasons that were never made clear but alluded to through many court documents. His attorneys allege it was so AMC could avoid paying increased profits and not have the need to negotiate a contract for the following season.
Subsequently, an additional lawsuit was filed in August of 2017 by creator Robert Kirkman and producers Gale Ann Hurd, Glen Mazarra, and David Alpert. The group claims they have also been shorted profits from licensing fees totaling upwards of a billion dollars. At the time AMC was prompt in responding that the lawsuit would have no bearing on the current work of The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead or Talking Dead.
This latest round of paper flinging was prompted by the Darabont and CAA attorneys who claim AMC did not fully disclose the contents of agreements with TWD creator Robert Kirkman. AMC was quick to counter with their own statements, “For that reason alone, this Court should not go any further without considering how the new complaint bears on — and disrupts — the fair administration of justice in this case.”
According to ComicBook.com, these new allegations could push trial even further in 2018 or possibly 2019.