Infinity Ward co-founders Jason West and Vince Zampella have filed a lawsuit against Activision via their legal representatives O'Melveny & Myers LLP. West and Zampella were fired earlier this week for breaches of contract and insubordination. The termination comes just weeks before they were to receive substantial royalty payments as part of their contracts for the development of the best-selling Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
The suit includes claims for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, wrong termination in violation of public policy, and declaratory relief. West and Zampella seek "at least" US$36 million and control of the Modern Warfare brand, which they consider a subset of the main Call of Duty franchise.
"Activision has refused to honor the terms of its agreements and is intentionally flouting the fundamental public policy of this State (California) that employers must pay their employees what they have rightfully earned," said their attorney Robert Schwartz. "Instead of thanking, lauding, or just plain paying Jason and Vince for giving Activision the most successful entertainment product ever offered to the public, last month Activision hired lawyers to conduct a pretextual 'investigation' into unstated and unsubstantiated charges of 'insubordination' and 'breach of fiduciary duty,' which then became the grounds for their termination on Monday, March 1st."
"We were shocked by Activision's decision to terminate our contract," said West. "We poured our heart and soul into that company, building not only a world class development studio, but assembling a team we've been proud to work with for nearly a decade. We think the work we've done speaks for itself."
"After all we have given to Activision, we shouldn't have to sue to get paid," added Zampella.
Modern Warfare 2 and the Call of Duty franchise has earned publisher Activision more than US$3 billion.
UPDATE: Activision have called West and Zampella's suit "meritless," releasing this statement:
"Activision is disappointed that Mr. Zampella and Mr. West have chosen to file a lawsuit, and believes their claims are meritless. Over eight years, Activision shareholders provided these executives with the capital they needed to start Infinity Ward, as well as the financial support, resources and creative independence that helped them flourish and achieve enormous professional success and personal wealth.
“In return, Activision legitimately expected them to honor their obligations to Activision, just like any other executives who hold positions of trust in the company. While the company showed enormous patience, it firmly believes that its decision was justified based on their course of conduct and actions. Activision remains committed to the Call of Duty franchise, which it owns, and will continue to produce exciting and innovative games for its millions of fans.”
