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February 16th, 2012

Hollywood Reporter Esq., Reuters, National Law Journal, Law360

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Devin McRae Quoted in Several Moore v. Kirkman, Walking Dead Articles

Devin McRae appeared in several articles regarding Tony Moore’s lawsuit against Robert Kirkman, an executive producer of The Walking Dead TV series.

Here are some excerpts:

“Robert Kirkman, the famed comic book writer who helped create AMC’s hit zombie series The Walking Dead, has been sued by a childhood friend and collaborator who claims he is entitled to as much as half the proceeds from the lucrative franchise…Michael Anthony (“Tony”) Moore, a fellow comic book artist, filed suit Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court. In the complaint, a copy of which was obtained by THR, Moore says he was duped into assigning his interest in the material over to Kirkman, who has since gone on to fame and fortune. Moore, on the other hand, has received very little compensation and has not be able to access profit statements from properties including Walking Dead, he says…The suit, filed by Devin McRae, William Wright and Mary Gordon at LA’s Early Sullivan Wright Gizer McRae firm, alleges causes of action for promissory fraud, breach of written contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, money had an received and accounting.”

Source: Hollywood Reporter Esq.

“Nine months before he was sued by his former illustrator for payments over their “Walking Dead” comic book and the TV show it spawned, Robert Kirkman made a joke he probably regrets now.  Asked during a podcast how a comic book writer should find an artist to draw his or her stories, Kirkman dryly replied, “Trickery and deceit.”  On Thursday, Kirkman’s original “Walking Dead” artist, Tony Moore, accused him of exactly that. Moore alleges in a lawsuit that Kirkman, a childhood friend with whom he collaborated on several comics, tricked him into surrendering his rights to them in 2005 in exchange for payments that never came. Kirkman calls the allegations “ridiculous.”  But his “trickery and deceit” joke, lighthearted and ironic as it may have been, is almost certain to come under scrutiny if the case goes to trial. Moore’s attorney said Friday he was unaware of the podcast comments until TheWrap asked about them.  “As the saying goes, in all humor there’s truth,” said the attorney, Devin McRae. “And also, I think from my client’s perspective, Mr. Kirkman is clearly speaking from experience.”

Source: Reuters

“Comic book artist Tony Moore has sued Robert Kirkman, an executive producer of The Walking Dead TV series, claiming he was tricked into signing a 2005 agreement and has been denied an accounting to determine his share of the show’s profits.  Moore, whose full name is Michael Anthony Moore, claimed in a suit filed on Feb. 9 that Kirkman and his company, Kirkman LLC, have failed to provide books and records that would clarify how much he should be paidunder the agreement.  “He’s received some checks, but that’s all he gets are checks,” said Moore’s attorney, Devin McRae, a partner at Los Angeles-based Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae. “He’s asked for accounting statements and access tothe supporting documentation that is supposed to be provided under the agreement, and he’s getting stonewalled.”

Source: National Law Journal

“Comic book writer Robert Kirkman, who helped create the AMC television hit “The Walking Dead,” was sued Thursday by a former collaborator who claims he was duped into signing away his rights to the comic book series that inspired the show.  In a complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Michael Anthony Moore alleges that in 2005, Kirkman and his agents devised a fraudulent scheme to get him to agree to assign his copyrights on works he co-authored to Kirkman’s company…Devin McRae of Early Sullivan Wright Gizer McRae LLP, who represents Moore, told Law360 that it was “ironic” for the other side to claim that Moore had been paid his due, saying Kirkman’s representatives had previously claimed that the documents needed to verify whether the royalties were being paid properly were unavailable.  ‘If they are so certain that [Moore] has been paid everything he is owed, we expect that in discovery they will give us everything that our auditor has specified is necessary to confirm that,’ McRae said.”

Source: Law360