Activision issued a $42 million check to the “Infinity Ward Employee Group” after reviewing all the evidence leading up to the high-profile lawsuit against former Infinity Ward co-heads Jason West and Vince Zampella. Infinity Ward Employee Group’s lawyer, Bruce Isaacs, confirmed receiving a check for $42 million, which includes 10 percent interest and is in addition to the $22 million that has already been paid for the promised first quarter launch bonus.
Isaacs called the payment “a cynical attempt to look good before the jury trial.”
In speaking with Polygon, Isaacs said, “I can confirm for you that it happened today. I can also tell you that although it is a meaningful payment it is only a small portion of what we are seeking in litigation. It is outrageous that they made us wait, they obviously knew they owed the money and this just shows that they breached the contract.”
The original Infinity Ward Employee Group suit included 38 plaintiffs in 2010, including notable figures like former Infinity Ward Lead Designer Todd Alderman and former Infinity Ward Lead Software Engineer Frank Gigliotti, both of whom now work with West and Zampella’s new studio, Respawn Entertainment. The group alleged that Activision failed to pay royalties for work on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Interestingly enough, Isaacs says that that the payment was not part of a settlement and that following the discovery phase, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick agreed that since the evidence didn’t implicate 40 members of the Infinity Ward Employee Group, the company decided to pay the amount it believed former employees were owed and focus on the legal efforts with West and Zampella.
“Activision owes my clients approximately $75 million to $125 million dollars,” Isaacs told G4 in 2010. G4 reported that “the suit alleges at least $54 million is still due from 2009 profits alone,” with unpaid bonuses owed past that. The group is also seeking an additional $75 to $500 million in “punitive damages.”
While the payment is not part of a settlement, the Infinity Ward Employee Group can still go after the remainder of the money they claim they are entitled to. Since the $42 Million was not negotiated, but based on the first request before damages inflated the amount, the group can still pursue the full amount of the law suit.
Isaacs tells Polygon the group still plans on pursuing the suit against Activision.
“They are just as interested as they were before hand,” he said. “We are seeking all kinds of bonuses per the contract. This payment relates to one particular game and one particular time period and one particular bonus.”
(Via Polygon)