Activision Blizzard filed a lawsuit against Netflix in California for alleged poaching of former Activision CFO Spencer Neumann in 2018.
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Activision Blizzard grab the Juggernaut streaming service Netflix in court for kidnapping one of his top executives shortly after he left. A case filed in a California court earlier this week alleges Netflix deliberately robbed former Activision Blizzard CFO Spencer Neumann, who left the company in December 2018 under unknown circumstances.
Neumann, who was hired as Activision’s CFO in May 2017, was contractually bound to serve in that role for at least three years, with an optional fourth. Neumann worked with Netflix during a negotiation phase between the two companies in which they expected a commercial partnership. Netflix sidestepped the idea of developing and streaming video games, and this deal was likely a big step toward that goal. However, apparently, a partnership with Activision wasn’t all that Netflix had in mind: Activision now claims that Netflix forced Neumann to breach his contract by actively hiring him during the negotiation process. Neumann took the bait and now Activision is concerned that other employees may follow suit.
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The first sign of trouble came in December 2018 when Neumann was reported to have left Activision a year and a half before the end of the contract. No reasons were given at the time, but two days later, Netflix announced Neumann as the new interim CFO. The moment prompted a number of eyebrows, but nothing specific about the situation was revealed until Activision filed a lawsuit in California this week, publicly arguing that Neumann jumped a ship for Netflix in clear violation of his contract. The suit courtesy of Deadline, It accuses Netflix of deliberately altering Neumann’s contract, engaging in unfair competition, and assisting Neumann in breach of fiduciary duty, and claims Activision lost the millions paid for Neumann’s replacement. The lawsuit seeks an injunction against Netflix to prevent its employees from being robbed. This practice has an unfortunate reputation for maintaining Netflix.
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It’s certainly not the first time Netflix has been accused of stealing production company executives – it lost a lawsuit with Fox and is currently fighting Viacom over it. Netflix has also laid off employees in the past who consider it “average.” “He thinks competitive companies are actively hunting down employees, which doesn’t add much magnanimity to his reputation, either. And while no one will accuse Activision of being completely controversial, Netflix’s overt disregard for general courtesy should be raising some red flags.
It must be argued that Activision has a strong case, given the clear terms of Neumann’s breach of contract and the precedent of Netflix’s controversial legal history. While Activision can only file a court order to prevent Netflix from poaching its employees, it is more than likely that more such lawsuits will arise against the streaming service in the future. The Activision and Neumann case isn’t the beginning of Netflix’s poaching legacy, after all, but just another trophy on the wall.
Source: Deadline
