The ongoing legal battle between Harmonix and Viacom has hit a big turning point, now that it has been determined that the entertainment giant should be paying over $383 million to Harmonix shareholders. The decision was made by resolution accountants hired by the two firms.
The decision has caused quite a stir at Viacom, who insists that the accountants did not “consider arguments and evidence” that support their claims that such an amount should not be owed. Viacom has in response filed suit at the Delaware Court of Chancery looking to correct the situation. They believe that they were “improperly excluded” from the decision making process by the accountants, and that the courts should “vacate the determination of the resolution accounts on the grounds of manifest error.”
While $383 million is a rather steep fee for helping to run Harmonix into the ground, the shareholders had previously been arguing for $700 million after the company was sold for what amounted to a tax deduction to a third party.
Viacom is also seeking a refund of $131 million paid out in bonuses to Harmonix employees back in 2008; the original amount was just shy of $150 million.
[via 1UP]
