Now, POW is arguing that the issues underlying her claims have been “vociferously litigated and relitigatedPOW’s attorney Chaz Rainey argues JC’s complaint is “so fatally flawed that it is difficult to decide where to begin.” First, he argues Lee’s daughter doesn’t have standing because she’s seeking to enforce the purported rights of the now defunct Stan Lee Media under its 1998 employment agreement with her father. Second, he argues JC’s claims are well beyond the statute of limitations.
While the agreement said it gave the company the rights to Lee’s intellectual property for his lifetime, Rainey explains, a federal judge ruled that it is a personal services agreement and therefore was limited to seven years under California law. Rainey also maintains that Lee terminated the agreement in 2001 before Stan Lee Media filed for bankruptcy.
Lee formed POW in November 2001 and Rainey says Lee assigned his name and likeness rights to the company on no fewer than six occasions between its formation and his death and also gave the company his copyrights. Writes Rainey, “Attempting to bring such claims again, after being struck down numerous times by prior courts, including this very Court, is a gross waste of judicial time and resources.