Court agrees trash picking bad form for Tiggers, Roos and Plaintiffs

By Chantal Waldholz

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 9/26/07 — There’s no dumpster diving for documents allowed in 100 Acre Wood, a court ruled, making the smile on Winnie the Pooh’s face will shine a bit brighter. A billion-dollar lawsuit brought by Stephen Slesinger Inc. has failed, leaving Disney with all rights to the adorable bear.

After a three-year process, an appeals court ruled Tuesday that Disney would be acquitted of all charges.

The final verdict from the jurors came after the Slesinger family allegedly stole confidential Disney documents from the trash. With proof presented that they had done so, they apparently were evasive about how they obtained the documents. Now that the appeals court dismissing the lawsuit, Disney may have saved billions.

Stephen Slesinger Inc., the company which owns the rights to Pooh’s image, licensed merchandising and recording rights to Disney in 1983.

The company has accused Disney of “material breaches of its agreement.” They claim the multi-billion-dollar empire owes them a major sum of money due to underreporting sales of Pooh products.

However, according to family member, Pati Schlesinger, the fight is far from over. “Every single day that Disney refuses to pay us what they are contractually obligated to pay, there are new breaches, which will only increase the many millions of dollars in damages they owe,” she told AFP.

They will attempt an appeal to the California Supreme Court. “Disney knows this is not over, and they know the reasons why,” Slesinger said.