Court upholds $319M verdict against Disney over ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ profits
By The Associated Press - Tuesday, December 4, 2012 - 0 Comments
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – A federal appeals court on Monday upheld a $319 million…
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – A federal appeals court on Monday upheld a $319 million verdict over profits from the TV game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” and rejected Walt Disney Co.’s request for a new trial.
A jury decided in 2010 that Disney hid the show’s profits from its creators, London-based Celador International. The ruling Monday by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found no issues with the verdict or with a judge’s rulings in the case.
“I am pleased that justice has been done,” Celador Chairman Paul Smith said in a statement.
Disney did not immediately comment on the decision.
The ruling comes more than two years after the jury ruled in Celador’s favour after a lengthy trial that featured testimony from several top Disney executives. Celador sued in 2004, claiming Disney was using creative accounting to hide profits from the show, which first ran in the United States from August 1999 to May 2002 and was a huge hit for ABC.
The jury found that Celador was owed $269.2 million, and a judge later added $50 million in interest to the judgment.
The appeals court determined the verdict was not “grossly excessive or monstrous” and that it was not based on speculation or guesswork.
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Victims to appear at Arizona shooter Jared Loughner’s sentencing
By Emily Senger - Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 9:11 AM - 0 Comments
Jared Lee Loughner will be sentenced in an Arizona court Thursday morning after pleading…
Jared Lee Loughner will be sentenced in an Arizona court Thursday morning after pleading guilty to killing six people and injuring 13 during a shooting in Tuscon last year, and many of his victims, including former congresswoman Gabriel Giffords, will face him.
Loughner has pleaded guilty to the Jan. 8, 2011 shooting at a Giffords campaign event and his lawyers have arranged a bargain that will let him spend the rest of his life in prison, with much of it expected to be served in a psychiatric ward, reports The Arizona Republic. Loughner was diagnosed with schizophrenia after the shooting and was initially found unfit to stand trial.
Giffords, who was shot in the head and continues to recover from a brain injury, will be in court with her husband, former Space Shuttle commander Mark Kelly, who is expected to speak on her behalf. Other victims, as well as Loughner and his friends and family, will also have a chance to address the court.
Giffords’ former congressional aide Ronald S. Barber, who was also injured in the shooting and later took over Giffords’ seat when she resigned, is also expected to appear in court, reports CNN.
