Seeking billion-plus in damages
Malaysian casino kingpin Genting Malaysia Berhad has filed a billion-dollar breach-of-contract suit against two U.S. entertainment giants, 21st Century Fox and the Walt Disney Company, saying they reneged on a 2013 deal for a theme park near the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.
According to the South China Morning Post, the lawsuit was filed in U.S. federal court in Los Angeles on November 25. The complaint alleges that Fox agreed to license intellectual property from animated films like “Ice Age” and “Planet of the Apes” before it backed out. The suit also alleges that Disney wanted out of the deal because the park would be near a casino and would harm the company’s “family-friendly” image. Disney is known as a formidable opponent of casinos on its home turf in Orlando, Florida.
“The plan was for Fox World to be the new centerpiece of Resorts World Genting,” which already attracts more than 23 million visitors a year, according to the lawsuit, which says Fox used repeated delays in the project as a reason to cancel the deal and recently issued a notice of default, requiring the developer to open the park within 30 days, “an impossible deadline,” according to the Post report.
“This is a case about seller’s remorse, first by Fox and then by Disney, after the latter began the process of acquiring Fox in a deal now expected to close in the first half of 2019,” the suit contends. Genting says it’s entitled to more than US$750 million it has already invested in the park, along with consequential and punitive damages in excess of US$1 billion.
The 25-acre park, originally set to open in 2016, now could debut in 2019.
In a statement to Bursa Malaysia, Genting said it “intends to fully enforce its rights under the MOA, claim for the cost of its investments” and damages. It added that the litigation “is not expected to impact GENM’s current business operations.”
Reuters reports that the lawsuit coincides with Disney’s plan to complete its $71.3 billion purchase of many Fox assets, expected in the first quarter of 2019.
