Ryan Kavanaugh Clocks Victory in Lingering Lawsuit From Relativity Bankruptcy
Relativity Media founder Ryan Kavanaugh took a nine-figure albatross off of his neck on Thursday, after a New York judge dismissed a contentious lawsuit stemming from his indie studio’s bankruptcy process.
New York State Supreme Court Judge Charles E. Ramos dismissed a $110 million fraud claim from RKA Film Financing, the company’s third such claim since Relativity unraveled in 2015, that accused the studio head and his executives of misusing funds meant to promote films like Kristen Wiig’s “Masterminds” and Halle Berry’s “Kidnap.”
“Although this is RKA’s third version of the complaint, not once has RKA listed the name of a single person to whom Defendants’ alleged misrepresentations were made,” the judge wrote in documents obtained by TheWrap.
Also Read: Weinstein Co. Seeks New Buyer to Avoid Bankruptcy, Says Employees Will Still Be Paid
Kavanaugh consistently blasted the suit as “ridiculous,” and “nothing more than other investors trying to take advantage of Relativity’s current restructuring being delayed and market noise.”
The saga became so contentious that the small lending firm attempted to seize four unreleased movies from Relativity, including those mentioned above, to sell to other distributors and earn back their loans.
The Relativity bankruptcy has been in the ether of late, as the embattled Weinstein Company looks down the barrel at a Chapter 11 process following the sexual assault scandal surrounding disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Relativity’s TV entity was sold for a reported $125 million and was renamed Critical Content. The film division relaunched last year as Relativity Studios with producer Brett Dahl named interim leader. No projects appear to be in development.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this story.
Related stories from TheWrap:
Ryan Kavanaugh Sued for Fraud by Relativity Hedge Fund Investor
Steven Mnuchin Dodges Relativity Film Finance Fraud Lawsuit
Judge Orders Netflix to Pay Relativity $800K in Attorney's Fees
