Ravensburger Files Motion to Dismiss Disney Lorcana Lawsuit

By Christian Hoffer

Ravensburger has filed a motion to dismiss Upper Deck Entertainment's lawsuit regarding the upcoming card game Disney Lorcana. The motion was filed on July 12th and asks the United States District Court for the Southern District of California to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that the court lacks personal jurisdiction and because Upper Deck "has failed to allege several essential elements of the causes of action stated in the Complaint, such that [Upper Deck has not adequately stated claims for relief.] The motion comes ahead of a court date scheduled for July 14th. 

The 34-page filing, which was provided to ComicBook.com by Ravensburger, claims that "Upper Deck's laundry-list of claims fails as a matter of law, even under the most basic level of scrutiny." It also claims that Ryan Miller, a game designer named in the lawsuit, was "an independent contractor and freelance designer" with nothing in his prior agreement with Upper Deck preventing him from working with a competitor. The motion also touches upon Upper Deck's claims of fraud, inducement to breach, and negligence interference, arguing that Upper Deck's original Complaint either confirms that no legal duties were breached or because the Complaint does not allege that Ravensburger knew about Upper Deck's agreements with Miller. Additionally, Ravensburger notes that Miller's agreements with Upper Deck never had a non-compete agreement or clause. 

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In a statement provided to ComicBook.com, Lisa Krueger, Sr. Communications Director for Ravensburger North America said "We're glad to be moving forward with the legal process and feel very confident in our position. In the meantime, our team is keeping its focus on the upcoming launch. We're excited to see everyone at Gen Con and can't wait to see fans begin to purchase this game in our booth." 

Additionally, Brian Lewis, Legal Advisor for Ravensburger, stated to ComicBook.com that "Ravensburger has an extremely strong case here, and we hope it will be dismissed outright based on today's motion. While we respect the valid intellectual property rights of others, this appears to be more of a PR stunt than a genuine legal dispute. I also want to add that I've had the great fortune to know Ryan Miller personally for over 20 years and consider him to be a person of the highest ethical standards."

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