Judge Dismisses Disney-Favorable Audit in Pooh Case
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -- A Los Angeles judge Tuesday dismissed an independent auditor's report that The Walt Disney Co. had almost fully paid for rights to the Winnie the Pooh character despite a licensor's allega-tions of millions of dollars in underpayments. In his tentative ruling, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ernest Hiroshige dismissed the findings of a court-appointed auditor who determined that Disney owed Stephen Sle-singer Inc. just $11,000 in royalty payments stemming from a 1983 licensing agreement. Slesinger, which owns some North American rights to Pooh, has alleged that Burbank, California-based Disney failed to report at least $3 billion in Pooh-related sales, thus avoiding $35 million or more in royalties. Slesinger attorney Bon-nie Eskenazi said the judge's decision marks a victory for her client, and that a new court-appointed account-ant will now perform another audit based on a formula presented by Slesinger's own expert. The ruling is the latest twist in a long-running legal feud pitting Disney against Slesinger over royalties related to the A.A. Milne character.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -- A Los Angeles judge Tuesday dismissed an independent auditor's report that The Walt Disney Co. had almost fully paid for rights to the Winnie the Pooh character despite a licensor's allega-tions of millions of dollars in underpayments. In his tentative ruling, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ernest Hiroshige dismissed the findings of a court-appointed auditor who determined that Disney owed Stephen Sle-singer Inc. just $11,000 in royalty payments stemming from a 1983 licensing agreement. Slesinger, which owns some North American rights to Pooh, has alleged that Burbank, California-based Disney failed to report at least $3 billion in Pooh-related sales, thus avoiding $35 million or more in royalties. Slesinger attorney Bon-nie Eskenazi said the judge's decision marks a victory for her client, and that a new court-appointed account-ant will now perform another audit based on a formula presented by Slesinger's own expert. The ruling is the latest twist in a long-running legal feud pitting Disney against Slesinger over royalties related to the A.A. Milne character.
