A California judge on Monday threw out a lawsuit that could have cost the Walt Disney Co. (DIS.N) hundreds of millions of dollars from sales of Winnie the Pooh products, saying Disney's legal foes tampered with evidence, court documents showed.
Stephen Slesinger Inc., the family firm suing Disney, "is dishonest and shows no remorse," Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charles McCoy wrote in the decision, which backed Disney's accusations that Slesinger's actions were illegal and that its case should be dismissed as punishment.
A lawyer for Slesinger said the family would appeal the decision in state court and noted that McCoy had not addressed the family's main claims against Disney.
And so ends thirteen years of litigation -- at least for now. Details here from Reuters. (All my past posts on the case can be reached here.)
UPDATE: There's much more detail here from the Los Angeles Times, though I think access requires a free registration. The Times links to the judge's Order here. It's a pretty interesting read, and worth registering for.