SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND GENERAL RELEASE
Exhibt 10.1
This
Settlement Agreement and General Release (the "Agreement") is executed as of
June 22, 2009 by and between Red Mile Entertainment, Inc. (“Red Mile”), on the
one hand, and MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc. (“MTVN”) on
the other hand. Red Mile and MTVN, collectively, shall be referred to as the
“Parties.”
RECITALS
WHEREAS,
the Parties entered into a Merchandise License Agreement dated as of March 28,
2005, as amended from time to time (the “License Agreement”) pursuant to which
License Agreement, MTVN granted to Red Mile a license to develop, manufacture
and sell video game products based on MTVN’s property known as “Jackass” (the “Jackass
Property”) for various gaming platforms;
WHEREAS,
the Parties entered into a Game Development Agreement dated as of June 18, 2007,
as amended from time to time (the “Development Agreement”) to develop a “Jackass” game for the
Nintendo DS platform;
WHEREAS,
on March 7, 2008 MTVN terminated the License Agreement and the Development
Agreement;
WHEREAS,
on or about March 23, 0000, Xxx Xxxx filed a complaint against MTVN in the
Supreme Court of the State of New York, entitled Red Mile Entertainment, Inc. v. MTV Networks,
a Division of Viacom International Inc., Index No. 00-000-000, alleging
casues of action for breach of contract and intentional interference with
contract (the “Complaint”);
WHEREAS,
each party contends that it has been damaged by the conduct of the other in
connection with the License Agreement, the Development Agreement and the Jackass
Property (the “Dispute”);
WHEREAS,
the Parties now desire to resolve all existing and potential claims, disputes,
and causes of action that they have or may have against each other
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arising
from or related to the Dispute in an amicable and business-oriented manner,
without the necessity of further litigation or proceedings, in accordance with
the terms set forth below;
WHEREAS,
the Parties recognize and acknowledge that the execution of this Agreement will
not be deemed to be an admission of any liability or wrongdoing whatsoever on
the part of any party.
AGREEMENT
NOW,
THEREFORE, in consideration of the recitals and mutual promises contained in
this Agreement, the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, the
Parties agree as follows:
1. Payment
a. Within
five (5) business days after (1) receipt by MTVN of IRS form W-9’s completed and
executed by Red Mile and Bullivant Xxxxxx Xxxxxx PC, and (2) execution of this
Agreement by the Parties and their counsel, and (3) receipt by MTVN of written
confirmation that the Conditions Precedent set forth in Paragraph 2a below have
been satisfied, MTVN will pay or cause to be paid the sum of One Hundred One
Thousand, One Hundred Eighty-One dollars and Thirty-Two cents ($131,181 .32) to
Red Mile, as a lump sum payment in settlement of any claims based on, arising
out of, relating to or in connection with the Dispute. The payment will be made
to Red Mile by wire transfer, care of its counsel Bullivant Xxxxxx Xxxxxx PC,
pursuant to the wire instructions to be provided by Red Mile’s
counsel.
b. All state
and federal tax payments required to be paid on account of the consideration
paid to Red Mile under this Agreement, care of its counsel, shall be the
exclusive responsibility of Red Mile and Red Mile shall indemnify MTVN against
all losses and liabilities arising from such tax obligations.
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2. Return of
MTVN’s Property and Dismissal of Complaint
a. Within
three (3) days after execution of this agreement by the
Parties and their counsel, Red Mile agrees to (1) return all MTVN Work Product;
(2) return to MTVN all MTVN Confidential Information (as those terms are used in
the License Agreement and the Distribution Agreement) provided to Red Mile; (3)
cause to be transferred any and all domain names registered, owned or controlled
by Red Mile that are associated with MTVN, “Jackass” and/or the Jackass Property
(the “MTVN Domain Names”); (4) return all materials, artwork, programs,
documentation, game codes, source codes or any other electronic or computer
codes, data or programming, in any form or format, associated with the Jackass
Property including, without limitation, any and all materials that Red Mile is
obligated to return to MTVN pursuant to the License and Distribution Agreements
(“Game Materials”); and (5) provide written notice to Prodigy Design Limited,
d/b/a Sidhe Interactive (“Sidhe”), that, as of March 7, 2008, all contracts
between Red Mile and MTVN regarding the Jackass Property were terminated, and
that all rights that Red Mile had or has pursuant to its agreements with Sidhe,
including Red Mile’s rights to game and source codes, and any other materials
related to the Jackass Property (including, without limitation, all materials
that Sidhe is obligated to provide to Red Mile pursuant to agreements between
Red Mile and Sidhe (the “Sidhe Materials”)) have been transferred and assigned
to MTVN, and that MTVN is the owner of all right, title and interest in and to
the Sidhe Materials. The foregoing terms in this paragraph shall be conditions
precedent (the “Conditions Precedent”) to payment by MTVN under Paragraphs 1a-b,
above. Upon completion of the Conditions Precedent, counsel for Red Mile shall
send written confirmation of said completion to counsel for MTVN. For purposes
hereof, the Jackass Property, MTVN Confidential Information, MTVN Domain Names,
Game Materials and Sidhe Materials are collectively referred to as the “MTVN
Property.”
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b. Red Mile
hereby relinquishes, transfers and assigns to MTVN any and all purported and/or
actual rights, title and interest throughout the universe (including, without
limitation, copyright, trademark other intellectual property rights), if any,
that Red Mile has, may have or may have acquired in the MTVN Property. Red Mile
agrees that it shall not do anything to restrict, impair, encumber, alter,
deprive or adversely affect MTVN's rights in the MTVN Property. Further, Red
Mile agrees and acknowledges that MTVN shall have the sole and exclusive right
to obtain, hold and renew, in its own name and for its own benefit, all
applicable intellectual property right protections (e.g., patents, copyrights,
service marks and trademarks, etc.) and all applications and registrations in
and to the MTVN Property. Red Mile hereby irrevocably appoints MTVN as its
attorney-in-fact, coupled with an interest, to execute and file any documents
required to give effect to this Section 2 in Red Mile's name. Red Mile shall
not, directly or indirectly, obtain or attempt to procure in its own name and
for its own benefit any intellectual property right protections in and to the
MTVN Property.
c. Within
three (5) business days after receipt of payment from MTVN pursuant to Paragraph
1 a above, Red Mile shall file a dismissal of the Complaint in the Supreme Court
of the State of New York, dismissing the entire Complaint, as to all parties,
with prejudice.
3. Mutual
Release.
Except
for the obligations set forth in this Agreement, each Party (on its own behalf
and on behalf of its agents, affiliates, attorneys, creditors, heirs, executors,
trustees, administrators, assigns, shareholders and successors-in-interest of
any kind) hereby releases, remises, relieves and forever discharges the other
Party and all of its respective past and present officers, directors, employees,
former employees, agents, shareholders, subsidiaries, successors, assigns,
personal representatives, predecessors, parent entities, related organizations,
divisions, attorneys, and their respective heirs, executors, trustees, and
administrators of and from all Released
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Claims.
As used herein, the term "Released Claims" means all claims, debts, liabilities,
demands, judgments, accounts, obligations, promises, acts, agreements, costs,
expenses (including but not limited to attorneys' fees), damages, actions and
causes of actions, of any kind or nature that a Party now has or hereafter can
have, known and unknown, based on, arising out of, relating to or in connection
with any act, omission, statement, occurrence, obligation or condition existing
as of or prior to the execution of this Agreement, including, without
limitation, all claims based on, arising out of, relating to or in connection
with the License Agreement, the Jackass Property, the MTVN Property, the
Development Agreement, the Complaint and the Dispute.
4. Waiver
of Section 1542 of the California Civil Code.
The
Parties acknowledge that they may subsequently learn of Claims which they may
have and which are currently unknown to them, and that they may subsequently
learn about facts or circumstances which are currently unknown to them or which
are different from what they currently know or understand to be true.
Nevertheless, it is the intention of the Parties that this Agreement shall be
effective as a full and final release of every Claim released herein, whether
known or unknown, whether suspected or unsuspected, or whether concealed or
hidden from them. In furtherance of this intention, the Parties, and each of
them, acknowledge that they have been advised by their respective counsel herein
and are familiar with the provisions of section 1542 of the California Civil
Code, which provides that:
A general
release does not extend to claims which the creditor
does not know or suspect to exist in his favor at the
time of executing the release, which if known by him must
have materially affected his settlement with the
debtor.
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The
Parties, being aware of said code section, expressly waive any rights they may
have under said code section, as well as under any other statutes or common law
principles of similar effect.
5. Costs.
Each
Party shall bear its own attorneys' fees and costs arising out of or related to
the Dispute and Claims released herein and no further claim shall be made
therefor.
6. Representations
and Warranties.
a.
The
Parties to this Agreement represent and warrant that they have not assigned to
any third party any actual or potential Released Claim or any portion of any
actual or potential Released Claim against any other Party to this
Agreement.
b. The
Parties have carefully read and reviewed this Agreement and understand it fully,
and the Parties have reviewed the terms of this Agreement with an attorney of
the party's choice prior to executing this Agreement. The Parties specifically
do not rely upon any statement, representation, legal opinion, accounting
opinion or promise of any other Party or any person representing such other
Party, in executing this Agreement or in making the settlement provided for
herein, except as expressly stated in this Agreement.
c.
There
have been and are no other agreements or understandings between the Parties
relating to the matters settled or released in this Agreement, except as
expressly stated herein.
d.
Each
Party has made such an investigation of the law and the facts pertaining to this
settlement and this Agreement and of all matters pertaining thereto as they deem
necessary. This Agreement has been carefully read by, the contents hereof are
known and understood by, and it is signed freely by each Party executing this
Agreement.
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e.
This
Agreement is the result of arms' length negotiation between the Parties, each of
whom received the advice and assistance of their respective
attorneys.
f.
The
Parties to this Agreement agree that, absent and subject to an order from a
court of competent jurisdiction or similar compulsion of law, such Party will
not, either directly or indirectly, take any action which would interfere with
the performance of this Agreement by any Party hereto, or which would adversely
affect any of the rights provided for herein.
7. Integration.
This
Agreement constitutes a single integrated, written contract expressing the
entire agreement of the Parties hereto relative to the subject matter hereof. No
recitals, covenants, agreements, representations or warranties of any kind
whatsoever have been made or have been relied upon by any party hereto, except
as specifically set forth in this Agreement. All prior discussions and
negotiations have been or are merged and integrated into, and are superseded by,
this Agreement.
8. Non-Admission
of Liability.
The
Parties understand and agree that liability for the aforementioned matters is
disputed by the Parties released by this Agreement and that this Agreement is a
compromise and shall not be construed as an admission of liability at any time
or for any purpose.
9.
Construction
of Agreement.
This
Agreement has been jointly negotiated and drafted. This Agreement shall be
construed as a whole according to its fair meaning. The language of this
Agreement shall not be construed for or against any Party. No provision of this
Agreement shall be construed against any Party by virtue of the activities of
that Party or such Party's attorneys. The headings used in this Agreement are
for reference only and shall not affect the construction of the
Agreement.
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10. Severability
The
Parties hereto covenant and agree that in the event that any provision of this
Agreement should be held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be void,
voidable, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, the remaining portions
thereof and provisions hereof shall nevertheless remain in full force and effect
as if such void, voidable, illegal or unenforceable provision had never been
contained in this Agreement.
11.
Notice.
All
demands, notices and communications under this Agreement shall be sent via
overnight or hand delivery as follows (subject to the right of each party to
change this notice designation by written notice to the other):
To
Red Mile
Xxxxx
Xxxxxx, Esq.
Xxxxxxxxx
Xxxxxx Xxxxxx PC 000 Xxxxxxxxxx Xx., Xxxxx 0000 Xxx Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx
00000
With
a copy to
Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxx, Esq.
MTV
Networks
0000
Xxxxxxxx
Xxx
Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
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To
MTVN
Xxxxx
X. Xxxx, Esq.
White
X'Xxxxxx Xxxx & Xxxxxxx LLP 00000 Xxxxx Xxxxxx Xxxx., Xxxxx 0000 Xxx
Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx 00000
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12. Waiver.
No breach
of any provision hereof can be waived unless in writing. Waiver of any breach of
any provision hereof shall not be deemed to be a waiver of any other breach of
the same or any other provision hereof.
13. Enforcement
And Governing Law.
Any
dispute or controversy arising under this Agreement shall be governed under the
laws of State of California. In the event of any action to enforce, or arising
out of, this Agreement, the prevailing party shall recover his or its reasonable
costs and expenses, including attorneys' fees, incurred
therein.
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14. Admissibility.
This
Agreement is admissible in any action to enforce any provision herein, pursuant
to Section 1123 of the California Evidence Code.
15. Execution in
Counterparts.
This
Agreement may be executed and delivered in two or more counterparts, each of
which, including but not limited to pages transmitted by facsimile or electronic
mail attachment, when so executed and delivered, shall be deemed to be an
original.
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties hereto each have approved and executed this
Agreement effective as of the dates set forth below.
DATED:
June 29 ,
2009
Red Mile Entertainment, Inc.
By:
/s/SimonPrice
Title: President
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
BULLIVANT XXXXXX XXXXXX PC
DATED: July
1 ,
2009
By /s/ Xxxxx Xxxxxx
XXXXX XXXXXX, ESQ.
Attorney for Red Mile Entertainment,
Inc.
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DATED:
June 29 ,
2009
MTVN Networks, a division of
Viacom International Inc.
By: /s/ Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxx
Title: Senior Vice President
WHITE X’XXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXX LLP
DATED: July
1 ,
2009
By /s/ Xxxxx X.
Xxxx
XXXXX X. XXXX, ESQ.
Attorneys for MTV Networks,
a
division of Viacom International
Inc.
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