Facts

Equity Pictures Medienfonds GMBH & Co., KG sued Myriad Pictures Inc. for breach of a settlement agreement.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Equity Pictures, a German entity, financed and produced feature-length Hollywood films. Among those films was the motion picture entitled Eulogy. Equity Pictures entered into an agreement with Eulogy Distribution LLC, an entity created by Myriad Pictures Inc. to finance and distribute the film. Equity Pictures claimed that EDL failed and refused to pay Equity Pictures a guarantee under the terms of the distribution agreement. Plaintiff contended Myriad failed to pay what it owed to Equity under the underlying settlement, despite the fact that Equity agreed multiple times to extend the payment schedule to accommodate Myriad's alleged inability to pay.

Equity Pictures brought claims for breach of the guarantee agreement in state court and in arbitration. It received an arbitration award against Myriad, which was confirmed by the court. The parties thereafter entered into a settlement agreement. Even after Equity Pictures agreed to amend the agreement and allowed Myriad extensions for payment, Myriad allegedly still failed to make timely payments under the terms of the settlement agreement. Equity Pictures brought an action against Myriad for breach of the settlement agreement.

Equity opposed dismissal of the federal action.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Myriad contended that the suit should not have been filed in federal court and that it must be resolved via arbitration pursuant to the parties' agreement.

Damages

Equity Pictures sought $540,134, plus interest.

Result

The court granted Myriad's motion to dismiss.

Other Information

Myriad subsequently brought a motion for attorney fees under German law in federal court, which was denied. Myriad also brought motions in the arbitration to disqualify counsel and, separately, to stay the arbitration in favor of the federal litigation. Both of those motions were denied.