EA Loses in Madden Lawsuit Verdict; jury rules statute of limitations has not run

Written by Brandon Hofer on June 22, 2013

Madden NFL 25 News: Robin Antonick has sued EA over withheld royalties and successfully completed the first step in his journey to get what he thinks he is owed.

EA has been in court recently defending itself against claims brought against them by Robin Antonick who claimed that EA withheld royalties from him. For those who don’t know, Mr. Antonick was the original designer and developer for what became the best-selling Madden NFL football games. It has now been revealed that EA has lost in court as the jury has ruled that the statute of limitations has not run and, therefore, Mr. Antonick is still well within his rights to file his suit against EA. The original press release is below:

June 21, 2013

San Francisco, Calif., - A jury in U.S. District Court today ruled in favor of Robin Antonick, the original designer and developer of Electronic Arts’ (NASDAQ: EA) best-selling Madden NFL Football games.

The case alleges that EA and Antonick signed a series of publishing and development contracts, culminating in a 1986 agreement that requires EA to pay him royalties on any derivative works related to the original version of EA Madden, including current annual releases, and prohibits EA from using his confidential information. The lawsuit claims that EA failed to pay millions of dollars in royalties owed to Antonick and to keep his work confidential as required by the contract.

The jury will determine what to award Antonick in allegedly unpaid royalties from more than $200 million in revenues for games released between 1990 and 1996, punitive damages and disgorgement of all profits arising from the $5 billion Madden NFL franchise and related sports videogames, according to court filings. Damages relating to 1997-2013 games will be tried in a subsequent phase of the trial.

In today’s ruling the jury tackled the statute of limitations, specifically whether the deadline for filing a lawsuit had already passed. It found in Antonick’s favor, ruling that he did not suspect any wrongdoing by EA before 2005. It also found that a reasonable person would not have known about the claims before 2005.

“This is a major validation of Mr. Antonick’s testimony,” said Rob Carey, Antonick’s attorney. “This was by far EA’s strongest defense, and the jury’s verdict unanimously supported Mr. Antonick, which also means the jury probably thinks some significant information was concealed.”

“Now the case goes to the merits, where we have irrefutable evidence,” he continued. “We are confident that we will be able to demonstrate that EA failed to live up to its agreement with Mr. Antonick and lied to him about the use of his protected work product in the games.”

Antonick is also represented by Leonard Aragon of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and Stuart Paynter of the Paynter Law Firm.

What do you think about this development? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.