The Superior Court of California for Los Angeles County has denied Disney’s request for a restraining order to block YouTube’s hiring of Justin Connolly.
In the Wednesday ruling, Judge James C. Chalfant denied the request due to “lack of showing of emergency” and the “balance of harms” working in favor of Connolly. Additionally, it noted that Disney has “not demonstrated a probability of success on the merits.”
However, Chalfant said Disney has the option to file for a preliminary injunction in the independent calendar court. “Plaintiff must comply with Code of Civil Procedure 1008(b) if the motion is renewed,” he added.
“We are disappointed in today’s ruling, but will continue to pursue our legal remedies,” a Disney spokesperson told TheWrap. A spokesperson for YouTube declined to comment.
Connolly, who served as Disney’s platform distribution president and spent over two decades at the entertainment giant, exited the company last month to join YouTube as its global vice president of media and sports partnerships.
Disney sued YouTube and Connolly, alleging breach of contract, tortious interference with contractual relations and unfair competition. Per the complaint, Connolly signed a new three-year contract with Disney in November, which included a one-time right to terminate effective March 1, 2027, so long as he provided written notice no later than Dec. 31, 2026.
“Connolly has intimate knowledge of Disney’s other distribution deals, the financial details concerning Disney’s content being licensed to YouTube, and Disney’s negotiation strategies, both in general and in particular with respect to
YouTube,” Disney’s lawyers wrote. “It would be extremely prejudicial to Disney for Connolly to breach the contract which he negotiated just a few months ago and switch teams when Disney is working on a new licensing deal with the company that is trying to poach him.”
The Alphabet-owned video platform fired back on Monday, arguing that Disney employed Connolly on an at-will basis and that an order requiring him to either “return to Disney to work against his will and/or to quit his new position at YouTube” is unlawful and “expressly prohibited by statute and other controlling California law.”
It accused Disney of using Connolly as a “pawn” to advance its license renewal negotiations. It also said emergency relief isn’t appropriate when Disney knew for over six weeks that Connolly intended to leave the company to join YouTube.
Since 2019, Connolly has been tasked with overseeing Disney’s third-party media sales efforts for distribution, affiliate-related business operations for all of its direct-to-consumer services and linear media networks and content sales agreements for Disney Entertainment and ESPN.
He first joined Disney in 2003 as director of ESPN strategy and operations and went on to serve in various roles including executive vice president of affiliate sales and marketing, senior vice president of college networks and vice president of distribution strategy.
In a declaration filed with the court, Connolly said he stopped “leading or participating materially” in the current negotiations between Disney and YouTube in April and was replaced as the lead negotiator on that license. Similarly, other Disney executives had also taken over other ongoing negotiations with the company’s other partners.
“The very fact that Disney could and did so readily replace Mr. Connolly as a lead negotiator demonstrates that Mr. Connolly, despite his long history at Disney, does not provide services of a special, unique, unusual, extraordinary, or intellectual character,” YouTube said.
At YouTube, Connolly will oversee partnerships with major media companies, as well as sports leagues. His oversight will include distribution deals for YouTube TV, which has more than 8 million subscribers, and the company’s live sports portfolio.
YouTube noted in the Monday filing that he will “not be involved in any capacity with YouTube’s license agreement negotiations with Disney” and that his offer letter “demands that he continue to adhere to his confidentiality obligations to Disney, and confirms he cannot bring, use or disclose any of Disney’s confidential or proprietary information during his work at YouTube.”
