Celador International, Inc. v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.

MEMORANDUM

American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. (“ABC”), Buena Vista Television (“BVT”), and Valleycrest Productions (“Valley-crest”) (collectively, “the Disney affiliates”) appeal an order denying their motion for judgment as a matter of law and motion for a new trial following a jury verdict against them in a suit brought by Celador International (“Celador”) for breach of a contract by which Celador sold appellants the North American rights to the game show, Who Wants to be a Millionaire?. Celador claimed that the Disney affiliates breached the express terms of the contract and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing by failing to include half of ABC’s profits in Celador’s compensation (“the network license claim”) and by improperly deducting merchandising distribution expenses from the compensation (“the merchandising claim”). The Disney affiliates argue that the district court erred in submitting the interpretation of disputed contract questions to the jury, that the implied covenant theory was legally insufficient and tainted by the erroneous submission of the contract questions, that they are entitled to a new trial because the district court committed…