The firm is pleased to announce that it was recently recognized by the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal in its “Top Verdicts of 2024” issue for the jury trial victory it achieved on behalf of longtime client Mattel in Herrick Productions LLC v. Mattel Inc. et al. Each year, the Daily Journal profiles the winning teams behind California’s top verdicts. KHIKS team members Larry Iser, Patricia Millett, Kristen Spanier, and Chad Fitzgerald were honored by name in the issue for their contributions to this outstanding result.
The plaintiff in this case, billionaire East Coast real estate developer Norton Herrick, had alleged that Mattel stole a format he had optioned and later presented to Mattel in 2014 for a reality show about toy inventors featuring child judges. Herrick claimed at trial that Mattel breached an implied contract to hold the format in confidence, that the format contained “trade secrets” that Mattel disclosed to the producers of the ABC television show “The Toy Box,” and that Mattel committed fraud by misrepresenting its intentions and concealing its involvement in “The Toy Box” from Herrick. In August 2024, KHIKS presented substantial evidence on behalf of Mattel that the toy company had received pitches for the same concept from multiple producers, that “The Toy Box” was developed independently of “Playmakers,” and that if there was an “implied contract” arising from the “Playmakers” pitch, Herrick breached that contract when his partner at the time of the pitch, experienced reality TV producer Phil Gurin, left the project.
“The verdict is significant because, although idea submission claims are commonly asserted against television and film studios, such cases rarely proceed to trial,” Larry told the Daily Journal. “By proceeding to trial, Mattel, a highly creative company, established that it does not steal ideas.”
The Daily Journal’s write-up of the case also notes that Herrick’s claims repeatedly changed throughout the case, which was originally pled as a Desny claim under the theory recognized in Desny v. Wilder. The KHIKS team members were also faced with the challenge of rebutting the opinions of the plaintiff’s highly paid expert witnesses.
“… one of plaintiff’s expert witnesses opined that, but for Mattel’s wrongdoing, plaintiff not only would have gotten a television show based on its format on the air, but the show would have lasted at least eight seasons (with 110 episodes) and have been a domestic and international success, earning between $30 and $50 million,” explained Kristen. “We had to work with various entertainment industry experts to determine the speculative nature and faulty reasoning of the opinions of the plaintiff’s experts.”
For more information and to read the Daily Journal’s full profile of KHIKS in its “Top Verdicts” issue, click below.
