US media and entertainment giant Twenty-First Century Fox Inc has filed a counter-claim against Genting Malaysia as part of its defense against the Asian casino operator’s US$1 billion theme park lawsuit.
Genting Malaysia took legal action against Twenty-First Century Fox Inc and Walt Disney Co in November for allegedly reneging on a contract to build a Fox theme park at its Malaysian integrated resort, Resorts World Genting.
The original lawsuit, filed with the US District Court in Los Angeles, relates to a contract signed in 2013 with Genting Malaysia claiming Fox subsequently forced years of delays after suffering “seller’s remorse” – ultimately costing Genting millions in potential ticket sales.Genting accuses Disney of wanting to terminate the contract because it does not want to be associated with a gaming company. It also says that Fox issued a default notice in a bid to terminate the contract which was “entirely consistent with Disney wanting to kill the deal.”
However, Fox filed its own counter claim on Wednesday in which it accuses Genting Malaysia of breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
The claim seeks a monetary sum of US$46.4 million relating to annual license fees, guarantee amounts, royalties and travel reimbursements pursuant to the Memorandum of Agreement dated 1 June 2013, plus damages and costs.
In response, Genting Malaysia said it is in the process of reviewing the counter claim with its legal team.
Genting stated in November that it has already invested around US$750 million into the theme park project.