Oral Arguments Forthcoming in Archie v. Penders Motion

It’s been a while since we’ve seen or heard much in the ongoing legal dispute between Archie Comics and Ken Penders.  But on Monday, a single letter surfaced in the electronic public record.  It was a letter from a member of Penders’s defense team seeking an adjournment to arguments apparently scheduled in court next week concerning both sides’ motion for summary judgment.

To refresh your memory, both sides are now seeking judgment in favor of their side, without having to endure a full trial.  For Penders, that judgment ideally would affirm his ownership of several storylines and characters from his tenure on the Sonic comics that he later copyrighted.  For Archie, it would be a declaration those materials belong to the company as a result of Penders’s work for hire agreement.

The hearing was set for Monday morning at 10:30AM.  But a counselor for defendant Penders, Phillip Daman, Esq. wrote to judge Richard Berman, who is presiding over the case.  Daman requested an adjournment, or a delay in that hearing, to early August due to “a site inspection in Los Angeles in another matter early that morning and then depart on a previously scheduled vacation later that afternoon for the remainder of the week,” according to the letter.

Daman did note in his letter that attorneys for Archie Comics had consented to an adjournment.  But Judge Berman did not appear easily influenced.  An adjournment was granted by him, but only to 2:30PM the original scheduled day of arguments, July 16th.  Each side will be granted five minutes to state their case.

The bottom line: From this development, we could learn a lot more about where this case is going–if not the outcome itself–by late next Monday.    The impact of such a short adjournment remains to be seen, but if one of Penders’s attorneys is not present for arguments, it could have an impact on his defense.  If we learn anything more, we will pass it along.