Judge overturns $128M of punitive damages in ‘Bones’ TV show case

A judge has overturned $128 million in punitive damages that was part of an arbitration award against 21st Century Fox over profits from the long-running television show "Bones."

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Richard E. Rico vacated the sizable punitive damage award, the bulk of a $179 million total award issued in February, in a ruling issued Thursday. "The award will be corrected" to reflect more than $50 million in compensatory damages, attorney fees and interest, according to court records.

"Bones" actors Emily Deschanel and David Borneaz filed suit against the network in 2015, claiming Fox offered "sweetheart deals" that denied them the right to earn additional profits from licensing deals Fox made to air the show on streaming site Hulu, according to court documents and news reports.

Subsequently, executive producer Barry Josephson and Kathy Reichs, author of the Temperance Brennan novels the series is based on, joined the suit. Wark Entertainment Inc. v. Twentieth Century Fox, BC602287 (L.A. Sup. Ct., filed Nov 25, 2015).

The network said in a statement, "We are pleased with the court's decision to strike punitive damages from the award and vindicating our position. We look forward to concluding the litigation."

Representing the plaintiffs, Daniel A. Saunders of Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP said in a statement he will appeal the ruling.

The decision "in no way impacts the arbitrator's findings that our clients are owed more than $50 million for Fox's fraudulent and deceitful accounting," Saunders said in the statement.

"It deals only with the technical issue of whether our clients waived their right to receive punitive damages," he added. "As the arbitrator concluded, they did not."

Neville L. Johnson, a prominent entertainment attorney with Beverly Hills-based Johnson & Johnson LLP, said that while the case won't deter studios from developing deals with streaming sites, it does give the plaintiffs a strong argument for appeal as to whether their contracts with Fox can prohibit them from receiving punitive damages.

"There are good arguments that punitive damages should be allowed because, under California law, you cannot waive the liability for intentional conduct, and the [arbitrator] found fraud here," Johnson said.