The company that bought The Weinstein Company’s assets out of bankruptcy does not have to pay a producer of the 2012 film “Silver Linings Playbook” amounts he claims he is owed for his work on the movie, an appeals court ruled on Friday, Reuters reported. In a 25-page decision, a three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld lower court rulings that rejected producer Bruce Cohen’s claim that Spyglass Media Group LLC, which purchased the Weinstein assets out of bankruptcy in July 2018, owes him $400,000 under his work-for-hire contract. Spyglass acquired the Weinstein assets, including production contracts, for $289 million when the company filed for bankruptcy in 2018 following widespread allegations of sexual misconduct against co-founder Harvey Weinstein. A lawyer for Cohen, Angela Butcher of Elkins Kalt Weintraub Reuben Gartside, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Craig Martin of DLA Piper, representing Spyglass, did not immediately respond either. The Cohen contract is one of several The Weinstein Company had with film and television talent before its bankruptcy. Spyglass's predecessor sued Cohen in October 2018 seeking a declaration that it acquired the company's assets free of any requirement to honor prior compensation obligations. “Silver Linings” stars Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro have since become involved in the litigation, but Cohen’s contract was effectively used as the bellwether case for such agreements in the Delaware bankruptcy court that handled the Weinstein case.
