Endeavor Prevails in IP Theft Lawsuit Linked to 2021 IPO

18 months after being filed, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge has shut down a lawsuit accusing Endeavor of intellectual property theft.

In the lawsuit, originally filed in March of 2022, consultant David Carde accused Endeavor of stealing an anlysis of the company that he sent,m unsolicited to CEO Ari Emanuel in 2019 after Endeavor’s recent failed IPO. Carde claimed his analysis led directly to the company’s $10.3 billion IPO in the spring of 2021, and that he hadn’t been credited or compensated.

However, in a ruling issued Dec. 12 and unsealed Friday, Judge Gregory Keosian shot all of that down. In his dismissal of the suit, Keosian wrote, “none of plaintiff’s unique concepts appear in any of Endeavor’s materials, and every single idea plaintiff claims was ‘stolen’ was actually made public by Endeavor long before plaintiff even wrote the Essay. Summary judgment accordingly must be entered in favor of Endeavor.”

Keosian also noted that Endeavor doesn’t accept unsolicited submissions and thus Carde never had an implied contract with them.

Latham & Watkins, the law firm representing Endeavor, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap. But in a statement provided to media, L&W partner Jessica Stebbins Bina said, “We are pleased with the court’s decision granting summary judgment in favor of our client, Endeavor, holding plaintiff’s idea theft claims absolutely meritless. As the court recognized, Endeavor does not accept unsolicited submissions, and never entered any contract of any kind with plaintiff.”

Endeavor’s effort to go public was, initially, a success. However the company’s share price has underperformed and its largest shareholder, private equity powerhouse Silver Lake, is now trying to take it private again.

THR first reported on the lawsuit’s dismissal.

Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.

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