West and Zampella seek to block delay in Activision trial
Claim expansion of case interferes with running Respawn
Respawn Bosses Jason West and Vincent Zampella are protesting a recent attempt by Activision to broaden the allegations regarding their acrimonious departure from Infinity Ward.
Last month, Activision alleged that the pair had been colluding with EA prior to their departure, as well as attempting to sabotage marketing efforts by fellow Call of Duty developer Treyarch.
Consumer site Kotaku has seen legal documents alleging that Activision was previously aware of EA's claimed discussions with the pair, but had waited six months to add this to its counter-suit in order to delay the trial.
West and Zampella are trying to block this expansion of the case, claiming that they are "paying for this litigation from our own funds", with costs exceeding their combined annual salaries.
They also allege that the ongoing legal battle is interfering with the running of new studio Respawn. "Any delay of the trial in this lawsuit would increase the financial and non-financial burdens and would continue to distract us from running our business and earning a living."
As part of its sought expansion of the suit, Activision is demanding $400 million from EA. The rival publisher's head of communication Jeff Brown referred to Activision's claim as "a PR play filled with pettiness and deliberate misdirection."