Royalty Fee Collector Worldwide Subsidy Group Rebuffed in Court

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A federal judge in Los Angeles booted a case brought by royalty collection service Worldwide Subsidy Group over fees the company said were owed by David Letterman’s production company Worldwide Pants Inc.

U.S. District Court Judge Andre Birotte Jr. kicked the case Tuesday, ruling in a summary judgment order that WSG’s claims were brought after the statute of limitations had run out. The company filed suit against Letterman’s outfit in 2014, claiming the production company had not paid it a contractually owed sum of money for services rendered.

Downtown’s Gibson Dunn & Crutcher represented Worldwide Pants in the lawsuit. New York-based partner Orin Snyder said in a statement the ruling was an affirmation that WSG’s allegations were meritless.

“We are gratified by the court’s dismissal of the lawsuit,” Snyder said. “The decision reflects our confidence, from the outset, that the claim was baseless.”

WGS has appealed the Birotte’s ruling to 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The ruling comes on the heels of another defeat for WSG, which at one time was controlled by Raul Galaz, a former Los Angeles entertainment lawyer who started the royalty collection company in the late 1990’s who was later was found guilty of mail fraud. A state appellate court in L.A. ruled last month that a similar suit filed against DreamWorks Studios, the now NBCUniversal and Comcast Corp. subsidiary, was also time-barred.

Downtown’s Caldwell Leslie & Proctor represented DreamWorks in the case. WSG was represented in both cases by Pick & Boydston of Westwood.

Edit: This story has been updated with additional information and corrected to reflect that Galaz no longer controls WGS.

Deals & Dealmakers reporter Henry Meier can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @henry_meier.

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