A Los Angeles Judge awarded a key win to AMC in their ongoing legal battle over profits from their adaptation ofRobert Kirkman’s comicTheWalking Dead. Kirkman, along with producers David Alpert, Gale Anne Hurd, and Glen Mazzara filed a lawsuit in 2017 against AMC for a bigger share of the profits.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Daniel Buckley ruled against all 7 issues raised in Kirkman’s suit and that AMC had been compensating both him and the producers fairly. One key ruling by Judge Buckley was that AMC were entitled to define “modified adjusted gross receipts” according to the terms of the current contract.
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Kirkman’s lawsuit alleges that AMC concealedThe Walking Dead’strue profits under unscrupulous accounting to avoid paying him and the show’s producers their real share. One example cited in the suit alleges AMC received over $22 million from iTunes sales, but only reported $4.6 million. Judge Buckley’s decision has dealt a serious blow to Kirkman’s case.
In a statement, AMC’s lead attorney, Orin Snyder said that the ruling was “a total victory for AMC!” Adding “The judge found in AMC’s favor on all seven issues that were presented at trial and confirmed that AMC honored its contracts and paid Mr. Kirkman and the other plaintiffs what they were owed. As the court found, these plaintiffs had the most sophisticated lawyers and agents in Hollywood and they got what they bargained for.”
This isn’t the first lawsuit AMC have faced for theirTheWalking Deadadaptation.Frank Darabont filed a suit in 2013claiming $300 million in lost profits after being fired from the second season. Darabont’s case is expected to go to trial next year, but given this recent ruling, the litigants in Kirkman’s case may move to settle out of court.
