COUNSEL CONCERNSDC Comics Denied Sanctions in Superman Copyright Dispute

DC Comics later sued the heirs and Toberoff, alleging that he illegally sought to repudiate a 2001 agreement with the studio so that he could become a business partner with his clients in a new deal over the Superman rights. As part of the later suit, DC Comics attorney Daniel Petrocelli, a partner at Los Angeles-based O'Melveny & Myers, sought terminating sanctions against Toberoff after he failed to reveal several letters in his privilege logs. Petrocelli also sought an evidentiary hearing and, if needed, a special master.

In March 2013, U.S. District Judge Otis Wright in Los Angeles refused to go along, concluding that the motion 'is really just a rehashing of the tortured course of discovery in these Superman matters.' Even though he was 'deeply troubled' by Toberoff's failure to update his privilege logs, he concluded that the behavior did not 'rise to willful attempts to mislead' the judge or DC Comics. 'In any event, the Court is skeptical of DC's contention that any perceived deception here caused it any real prejudice, as the letters at issue here actually serve more to discredit DC's cries of intentional interference than they do to bolster them,' Judge Wright wrote.