A court has denied Warner Bros.’ anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss the case between WBD and the Michael Crichton estate over “The Pitt.”
Because of this ruling, the lawsuit will be allowed to move through discovery and to trial. This comes after Warner Bros. Discovery’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit was delayed by a judge last month. The court ruled the Crichton Estate has presented sufficient evidence when it comes to Warner Bros.’ alleged violation of its contractual obligations.
“This is an important win for Michael Crichton and the entire creative community. The court has rejected Warner Bros.’ attempt to avoid responsibility for breaching its contract with Michael Crichton, finding that the Crichton Estate’s claim has merit and should proceed,” a spokesperson for Sherri Crichton told TheWrap on Tuesday. “The Crichton Estate looks forward to presenting its case to a jury and is confident it will prevail.”
“The judge has not decided any of the claims in this case. She simply ruled that the case will proceed,” WBTV said to TheWrap. “We continue to believe in the strength of our position and that we will ultimately prevail.”
'The Pitt' Renewed for Season 2 at Max
The lawsuit revolves around “ER” and accuses WBD of breach of contract. The Crichton estate engaged with WBTV in a years-long negotiation to remake the George Clooney-starring medical hit, a negotiation that ultimately fell apart. The suit alleges that John Wells, Noah Wyle and R. Scott Gemmill took the concept of the project WBD was working on with the Crichton estate and reworked it to become “The Pitt,” a medical drama that follows frontline medical workers in a Pittsburgh hospital. According to the lawsuit, the only major differenced between the show that was in negotiation and “The Pitt” is the location of the hospital, Wyle’s character name and whether or not the estate was involved.
For its part, WBTV has said that “The Pitt” is a “completely different show” that is not derivative of “ER.”
“It would be absurd to interpret the ‘ER’ agreement as prohibiting WBTV from ever again making a medical drama about emergency medicine (and Wyle, who was not even a party to the agreement, from ever starring in one) without Mr. Crichton’s consent,” WBTV said in a statement in November. “Nothing in the agreement or the law supports such an extraordinary result.”
“The Pitt” airs Thursdays on Max.
