Funimation Files Response Against Vic Mignogna Lawsuit

This week, reports went live revealed Funimation has responded to the lawsuit which voice actor Vic Mignogna filed against the company. The response was collected in Tarrant County, Texas and firmly denies all of the allegations made by the actor.

As shared by Anime News Network, the defense filing denies the original allegations listed by Mignogna. For one, Funimation denies "all conditions precedent have been performed or have occurred" in regards to the allegations. The distributor also denies the actor complied with requirements established by the Defamation Mitigation Arc and with specific state laws within Texas.

In terms of the lawsuit's defamatory angle, reports about the response say Mignogna "failed to describe all of the allegedly false and defamatory statements by [Funimation" as well as provide the "time and place of their publication."

The lengthy response lists 14 defenses in Funimation's favor which explain why the company is in no way liable to Mignogna. These include defenses which say the voice actor's actions are what caused his accrued injuries and that Funimation's allegedly defamatory statement were "substantially true". The response goes so far as to call Mignogna "libel-proof" and ended with Funimation requesting a jury trial to settle the lawsuit. Mignogna was also asked to provide information required by Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 194 within the month.

This response was filed on behalf of Funimation in the wake of Mignogna's lawsuit being sent earlier in the year. The embattled voice actor informed fans he has retained legal representation after being accused of various forms of sexual harassment. A social media campaign called out the popular actor for inappropriate behavior with fans that eventually caught the attention of fellow voice actors who lent their support. The movement led to Funimation and Rooster Teeth ending their association with the actor, and Mignogna secured representation to combat the alleged defamation in court.

Dragon Ball Super currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block on Saturday evenings. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese-language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on FunimationNOW and Crunchyroll. The manga has chapters that can currently be read for free thanks to Viz Media, and Dragon Ball Super: Broly is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.