| Top Gun
Maverick Case Against
Paramount Case Will Continue
As Dismissal Bid Denied
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
SDNY
COURTHOUSE,
Oct 20 – With Paramount sued
by Shaun Gray over the Top
Gun: Maverick screenplay, the
Writer's Guild of America is
resisting the studio's
subpoena for its
communications with Gray,
citing privilege. But which
privilege?
On August
19 a WGA called into the
courtroom of U.S. District
Court for the Southern
District of New York Judge Jed
S. Rakoff for an oral argument
on the issue. Inner City Press
was there.
The
argument circled around
applying the Upjohn precedent
to this situation. Paramount's
lawyer insisted that attorney
client privilege does not
apply, and said Shaun Gray is
scheduled to be deposed on
August 26.
Judge
Rakoff said to go ahead with
the deposition, even prior to
ruling - but that if he rules
for Paramount, they will be a
second deposition, two hours,
by phone.
On October 14,
Judge Rakoff read from the
transcript of the deposition
of Eric Singer, replete with
defense objections by two
lawyers. Inner City Press was
there.
Judge Rakoff
said, There will be no more
kindergarten-like backbiting
at depositions in this case -
call me mid-depo next time. He
then ordered two and a half
hours more of deposition.
Paramount's
lawyer said Singer can't be
ordered to go more than 100
miles from his Atlanta home,
under Rule 45.
Fine,
Judge Rakoff said. Maybe I'll
make it 10 hours.
Paramount
will pay to fly Singer to LA,
or Gray's lawyer to Atlanta.
On October 20,
Judge Rakoff denied
Paramount's motion to dismiss,
order on Patreon here
More on X for
Subscriber here
and Substack here
The case is
Gray v. Paramount Global, et
al., 1:25-cv-3484 (Rakoff)
***
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