Lawsuit between Quentin Tarantino and Gawker gets complicated

Earlier this year, Oscar-winning director Quentin Tarantino threw out his "Hateful Eight" script because it was allegedly leaked to the internet by Gawker Media Group.

When Gawker was initially questioned for providing the script to AnonFiles, a third-party upload website, editor John Cook explained that "[n]o one at Gawker transmitted it." However, that didn't stop Tarantino's decision to file a lawsuit for supposedly violating his intellectual property.

Now, the case has has become somewhat of a goose chase because it turns out that Gawker.com is registered in the Cayman Islands, which led the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles to file a dismissal, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

"Its sole assets are equity securities in its subsidiaries, one of which is defendant Gawker Media, LLC.," the motion reads. "In short, GMGI does not publish anything, including without limitation the website found at www.gawker.com."

Round one of this battle may be in Gawker's favor, but legal battle against Tarantino is not over yet. Because Gawker does have two offices in America—Gawker Entertainment is in New York while Gawker Media LLC is in Delaware—Tarantino may find a way to file a lawsuit against these entities or issue such a case overseas.

Now, Tarantino potentially has quite the work ahead of him. Does he issue a lawsuit in the Cayman Islands or does he try to find a way to make the Delaware or New York locations responsible for its company's allegations? 

Due to the complications of these questions, the director won't be able to figure them out himself. However, with the support of a strong business attorney, Tarantino might be able to identify a strategy that could work. 

Categorised in: Entertainment Law

This post was written by