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Non-Tech : Marvel Enterprises (NYSE) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: stockamaniac who wrote (221)	5/21/2003 11:00:21 AM
From: OmertaSoldier	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 540

It's official, I can not come close to what a movie opens at. Let alone total gross. Lawsuit update.....................Reuters L.A. judge refers "Spider-Man" case to referee Tuesday May 20, 8:22 pm ET By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES, May 20 (Reuters) - This is a a job for Super-Ref. A judge on Tuesday granted a request by Sony Pictures Entertainment to send its legal dispute with Marvel Enterprises Inc. over last year's blockbuster film "Spider-Man" to a court-appointed referee. Marvel (NYSE:MVL - News), the New York-based comic book publisher which sued the studio in February seeking termination of their "Spider-Man" licensing agreement, had asked for a jury trial in the case. But Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Alexander Williams ruled that the licensing pact calls for the two sides to take such contract disputes to a "referee," typically a retired judge chosen by the two sides and appointed by the court to handle litigation on an expedited basis. "A deal is a deal, even in Hollywood," Williams said. He rejected Marvel's argument that a jury trial was called for on grounds that the contract was induced by fraud, an allegation he said was "easy to make, hard to prove." He gave Marvel and Sony until June 27 to choose a mutually acceptable referee or declare an impasse, in which case a referee will be named for them. Attorneys for both sides said they expected to agree on a jurist without much trouble. Under California's rules for "alternative dispute resolution," proceedings conducted by a referee are open to public scrutiny, as are documents connected with the case. But as a practical matter, attendance is somewhat more difficult because hearings are often held in the conference room of a private office rather than in a courtroom. Also like a jury trial, the decision of a judicial referee is subject to appeal. Alexander previously denied a request by the studio, a unit of Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp. (Tokyo:6758.T - News), to close documents and proceedings to the public. Marvel filed suit against Sony in February seeking $50 million in damages and termination of its "Spider-Man" licensing deal after the upcoming sequel to last year's hit film based on the web-slinging comic book hero. Marvel has accused Sony of essentially trying to hijack the Spider-Man brand by claiming exclusive merchandising rights to the character and "cross-promoting" the superhero with other Sony features, in violation of their partnership. Sony counters that it is Marvel that has acted in bad faith. Sony says the dispute arose after the studio questioned Marvel's accounting practices and that the comic book publisher is using the litigation as leverage to pressure Sony to renegotiate their licensing deal. The original "Spider-Man" movie, starring Tobey Maguire as a geeky teenager transformed into a superhuman crime fighter by a radioactive spider bite, was the highest-grossing film of 2002, generating worldwide ticket sales of $800 million. Losing its licensing pact with Marvel would effectively cut short one of Sony's most potentially lucrative film franchises. But Marvel has insisted that its suit is not aimed at halting production of the sequel, titled "Amazing Spider-Man," which began filming in New York last month.