Bid To Avoid 'Walking Dead' Accounting Trial Denied By Judge

The dispute leading to profits of The Walking Dead between AMC on one side and Frank Darabont and CAA on the other is one step closer to trial, as a New York judge on Monday denied the network's motion for summary judgment. 

Darabont in 2013 sued claiming he's owed hundreds of millions in profits because of AMC's allegedly shady accounting practices, while the network claims everything is above board and the producer is trying to renegotiate his contract through litigation.

In 2018, Darabont filed a separate suit alleging that AMC miscalculated MAGR (modified adjusted gross receipts) and breached its most favored nations obligations to Darabont by giving another profit participant a more favorable distribution fee. AMC moved for summary judgment.

Judge Joel M. Cohen on Monday found there are factual disputes that warrant a trial and denied AMC's bid to end the fight before it's put before a jury.

"The Court finds that the parties' agreements, taken as a whole, are 'susceptible of more than one commercially reasonable interpretation' with respect to MAGR and thus are ambiguous," writes Cohen in the decision.

The parties dispute whether a season two amendment to the deal was triggered because they disagree on whether Darabont's termination meant he rendered "executive producer/showrunner services for all episodes in Season 2." The now-retired judge who issued rulings on motions for summary judgment in the 2013 complaint found issues of fact that preclude granting judgment on the matter.

Keep reading this space for further updates.