A TheOneRing.net Exclusive!

You read it here first, unless your a member of MM3D’s message boards πŸ˜‰

Bridgette Patrovsky, CEO of MM3D, has posted an update on MM3D’s court case with Sierra. Bridgette was kind enough to give TheOneRing.net an exclusive on the story:

In the beginning, we filed in Ca. State court. Sierra claimed a jurisdiction issue and had the case ‘removed’ to federal court in May of 2001. (Los Angeles, Ca.)

Current Info

U.S. District Court
Central District of California (Western Div.)
CIVIL DOCKET FOR CASE #: 01-CV-4690
MM3D Inc v. Sierra On-Line Inc, et al
Filed: 05/24/01
Assigned to: Judge Christina A. Snyder
Jury demand: Defendant
Nature of Suit: 190 (civil, breach of contract)
Jurisdiction: Diversity

The Timeline

I believe these dates are correct but they may be off by a day or two. I’ve taken them from my personal notes. – Bridgette

05-24-01: The case was moved from State to Federal court.

06-11-01: They filed a motion to dismiss our claims.

06-18-01: We filed an opposition to their motion to dismiss.

06-25-01: They filed a response to our opposition filing.

07-03-01: Motion granted in part, denied in part. We were given leave to amend our complaint to fix it. (Note: We filed in State, not Federal, so we had to change our documents to meet the different Federal requirements.)

07-30-01: We filed an amended complaint and requested a jury trial.

08-16-01: They filed a motion to dismiss our amended (fixed) complaint. (The hearing date was set for 10am on 9-17-01)

08-30-01: We filed an opposition to their motion to dismiss.

09-10-01: They filed a response to our opposition.

09-17-01: Their motion to strike certain claims and motion to dismiss were denied by the court. (side note: They asked to have 4 claims dismissed out of the 11 we filed. All of our claims remained intact.)

What happens next?

They file a response to our complaint. After that, the case enters what is known as the discovery phase.

Discovery involves a long process of requesting documents, sending questions, taking depositions and basically, getting ready for trial.

I will be keeping a daily journal and making updates regularly. The updates will be less technical, and more personal. Stuff like: How does it feel to go through this? How is this effecting everyone?

On an even more personal note:

I appreciate your supportive emails and calls. I wish this hadn’t happened but since it did, I am confident that we are doing the right thing. This will be a long process. (as you can see from what it took just to get to the discovery phase)

Obviously, there is a lot I can’t talk about. Things have happened that aren’t mentioned above. Until the jury resolves this, I can’t give more detail. I will keep notes though and once this is over, I’ll write it all up.

Thank you,

Bridgette Patrovsky

Barbarshop chimes in with some welcome news for all Ringers out there that want to see the trailer again on their TV screen:

E’s ‘Coming Attractions’ featuring the Lord of the Rings second trailer will air on the following day (All times EST).

10/3/2001, Wednesday – 1:30 – 2:00 AM
10/5/2001, Friday – 9:00 – 9:30 AM
10/6/2001, Saturday – 7:00 – 7:30 AM
10/7/2001, Sunday – 3:30 – 4:00 AM
10/8/2001, Monday – 3:00 – 3:30 AM

Set your alarm clock(s)!

“Enya will have two brand new tracks included in the soundtrack to the first installment of the “Lord Of The Rings” trilogy, which is as close to a guaranteed blockbuster as you can get. And the young audience targeted by the movie could turn a new, younger audience on to her music.” [More]

Thanks to Tallboy for the heads-up.

John N has spotted something interesting in the latest catalogue from Department 56, the collectibles company that has made some well-known items in the past. [More]

From John N:

I don’t know if this counts as a “spy report,” but I just received my new catalog for Department 56, the collectibles company best known for its Original Christmas Village and Snowbabies collectibles. As part of Department 56’s Hot Properties licensed collectibles series, it is producing a LOTR movie collection that include waterglobes, secret boxes, blown glass Christmas ornaments, figurines, ornament stands, and picture frames featuring the LOTR:FOTR characters, places, and the One Ring itself. The catalog notes that all designs are pending final approval, and you can see that some of the items are not even crafted yet because they are depicted as artist renderings rather than photos.

I have tried unsucessfully several times to include a scan of the catalog pages. You can find them at www.department56.com. I hope you find this information helpful.

“With the enthusiasm for the ‘Lord Of The Rings’ movies building to a fever pitch, the film’s artistic directors have decided to show off some of their wares before the first film’s December release.

Costumes, props, and still photos from the upcoming film fantasy trilogy will be among items in the ‘A Journey To Middle Earth’ collection on display from Halloween through Nov. 11 at Casa Loma in Toronto, the first – and, for now, only – city in North America to receive the exhibit.” [More]

Thanks to Darren for the tip!