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CA Appeals Court Rules Hobbs & Shaw Film Dispute Must Be Heard By Court

By Alaina Lancaster
October 01, 2020

Universal City Studios will have to settle a contract dispute with a producer from the Fast & Furious movie franchise in court after a California appeals court ruled the entertainment company could not enforce an arbitration agreement. Moritz v. Universal City Studios LLC, B299083.

In a 14-page ruling, the California Court of Appeal upheld the L.A. Superior Court's decision finding that an arbitration agreement between film producer Neal Moritz and Universal, represented by attorneys from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, did not apply to the Fast & Furious spinoff Hobbs & Shaw starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jason Statham.

In the underlying dispute, Moritz claims he entered into an oral agreement with the movie studio to produce Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, and then shortly before filming began, Universal cut Moritz out of the project without compensation.

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