Former IW Bosses Object To Activision Involving EA

Late last year, Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard wanted to amend their ongoing lawsuit involving former Infinity Ward bosses Vince Zampella and Jason West. Activision implicated EA as co-defendants in the case, and also sought $400 million in damages from the Respawn founders and their biggest competition (which just so happens to be Respawn's publisher).

But Zampella and West have objected to this move, saying Activision waited too long to make the request. Furthermore, they claim Activision only asked for the amendment "in order to cause undue financial hardship on the game makers." The filing reads as follows:

"Litigating this case imposes substantial financial and time burdens on [Jason West and Vince Zampella]–much greater burdens than those imposed on Activision, a large corporation that has earned over $3 billion from selling the videogames plaintiffs developed. Plaintiffs suspect that Activision waited so long to add EA primarily to delay plaintiffs' day in court. Plaintiffs desire a prompt resolution to their claims and to avoid the significant additional expense that a delayed trial date would cause."

The monthly cost of this litigation has imposed a substantial cost on [Jason West] and co-plaintiff Vince Zampella. West and Zampella are paying for the litigation from their own funds and are not being subsidized or reimbursed by anyone else. … Delaying the trial means more costs, more burdens, and continued distractions in trying to run their business, non-party Respawn, and manage its dozens of employees."

Finally, they claim Activision didn't just "discover" this supposed relation to EA; they knew about it "some seven months before Activision entered its motion to amend." And so, the complications continue to rise and the ugliness grows. The trial is slated to begin on May 23 but we imagine it'll take a loooong time to sort all this out.

You know, as intensely boring as it is, I often thought I'd make a good lawyer. But it's news like this that makes me feel all…icky…about the possibility.