LPWire: Weiss Wins Favorable Court Ruling in Challenging Ovitz's $140 Million Payout
Milberg Weiss Wins Favorable Court Ruling in Challenging Michael Ovitz's 140 Million Dollar Payout From Walt Disney
It was announced today that the law offices of Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP, lead counsel in shareholder litigation challenging Michael Ovitz's $140,000,000 severance payout from The Walt Disney Corporation in 1996, has received a favorable ruling from the Delaware Court of Chancery rejecting the defendants' motion to dismiss and permitting plaintiffs to proceed with discovery.
Plaintiffs claim that the Disney board was derelict in its responsibilities when it approved CEO Michael Eisner's hiring of Mr. Ovitz in 1995 and then permitted Mr. Ovitz to leave The Walt Disney Corporation only 14 months later with his full severance package in hand.
Steven G. Schulman, a senior partner at Milberg Weiss, stated earlier, "This important decision paves the way for a full inquiry into the facts. We are confident that testimony from all the witnesses will show that the Disney Board and Mr. Ovitz jointly breached their fiduciary duties in granting him his lucrative severance package and allowing him to walk away with the full 140 million dollars after 14 months of unproductive efforts on the job."
The discovery process will continue until April 30, 2003, after which the Court has scheduled briefing on the issues.
Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP (http://www.milberg.com), a 225-lawyer firm with offices in New York City, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boca Raton, Seattle and Philadelphia, is active in major litigations pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States. Please contact the Milberg Weiss website for more information about the firm.-
-Posted February 7, 2003Source: Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP