Digital Domain loses termination suit 'Button' f/x company to pay $2 mil in damages

In a verdict handed down Thursday evening in Malibu, Christian Bradley "Brad" Call has won his wrongful termination suit against visual effects shop Digital Domain and has been awarded just under $2 million in damages.

Call was awarded $659,500 for breach of contract and over $1.2 million for wrongful termination.

On the wrongful termination claim, Call alleged that he was fired by executives of DD’s parent company, Wyndcrest Holdings, after he tried to prevent DD from presenting to a potential investor financial projections he thought were fraudulent. He prevailed on that claim.

The jury was not asked to decide if Wyndcrest had actually committed fraud. DD went on to give those projections to the investor, Falcon Partners, and Falcon did make the loan to DD, but a Falcon representative testified he did not rely on those projections in making the loan.

Call had also charged DD with fraud, saying the company never intended to honor his contract, but that charge was rejected.

DD also countersued Call, claiming breach of fiduciary duty and breach of duty of loyalty. The jury rejected most of those claims, but found Call broke his confidentiality agreement with DD by failing to return emails from his home office. He was ordered to pay $60,000 to DD on that count. Some of those emails became evidence in the case after Call produced them.

The jury was unanimous on most findings.

DD’s VP and general counsel Joseph Gabriel said in a statement that the company is "evaluating its appellate options."

DD was dogged by rumors of dire financial trouble even before this verdict, due in part to disclosures in an SEC filing that said it had not been profitable since 2004.

Gabriel said the ruling is "absolutely not going to put the company out of business," though the company declined to say whether it was prepared to pay the judgment if necessary.

Wyndcrest is a private investment firm whose investors include helmer Michael Bay and former pro quarterback Dan Marino. Neither was a defendant at trial. Falcon’s other investments include Legendary Pictures.

Digital Domain was the lead shop on this year’s vfx Oscar winner, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and contributed work to current smash "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."

Jeffrey Valle and Lin Meyer of Valle & Associates represented Call at trial. DD was represented by Chad Hummel, Rebecca Torrey and Joanna Hooper of Manatt Phelps & Phillips.