A federal court judge on Tuesday made final her ruling that keeps the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s lawsuit against the producer of the Golden Globe Awards on track for a trail in September.
However the producer, Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Red Zone Capital Partners, said that while they lost their motion to dismiss, they are “gratified” that the court dismissed a HFPA claim that they breached their fiduciary duty.
The HFPA responded that they continue to consider “the judges ruling an unalloyed victory” and that they look forward to the trial.
In a statement, a spokesperson for DCP said, “Contrary to the HFPA statement…the Court’s ruling does not speak to the merits of the lawsuit. We remain confident that, when the Court considers the evidence from both sides, our view of the contract will prevail and our right to produce the Golden Globes will be affirmed.”
The HFPA’s suit, among other allegations, charged Dick Clark with breach of contract for secretly negotiating a new contract to license the Golden Globes to NBC. It now appears the trial in September in U.S. District Court before Judge Valerie Baker Fairbank will decide the fate of the show, unless an out of court settlement is reached prior to that. A September trial means there should be plenty of time after a verdict to decide who airs the show, which the HFPA has vowed will go on in any case.
If Dick Clark wins, the deal with NBC to carry the Globes through 2020 will go forward. If HFPA wins, they will be free to get a new producer and to offer rights to the show to another network, or NBC, but only after another negotiation.
