There was no money on this magic bag.
The Australian descendants of one of many creators of Felix the Cat declare an upstate New York man lower them out of the enterprise for many years and managed the rights to the cartoon feline — setting them again $100 million.
Felix, the distinctive black and white cat with a giant grin whose catchphrase is “Righty-O!,” was co-created by a staff of cartoonists, together with Patrick Sullivan, in Manhattan in 1919, almost a decade earlier than Mickey Mouse was born.
Later, he turned a TV cartoon character with an iconic tune and a “magic bag of tricks” that would rework into any form.
Three heirs of Sullivan declare Donald Oriolo, of Pine Island, NY — whose cartoonist dad Joseph helped carry Felix again to prominence within the Eighties and created Felix’s scientist pal Poindexter — failed to tell them of the character’s modern-day resurgence and spent many years “siphoning off revenue and assets for his sole benefit.”
After struggling by way of chapter within the ’70s, Felix bounced again to change into a cult hit in Japan.
He was licensed to manufacturers like Sony, Chevrolet, Wendy’s and others and ultimately offered for an undisclosed sum to Dreamworks in 2014, they mentioned in a lawsuit in opposition to Oriolo.
Felix the Cat’s incomes energy through the years was considered within the “billions,” in accordance with a January report in Animation Journal.
However there’s no authorized catfight available, insisted Oriolo’s lawyer, who denied his shopper cheated anybody.
Oriolo, whose dad helped create the “Felix the Cat” animated collection, took management of the enterprise after his mom Dorothy died in 2004.
He lengthy believed all the opposite shareholders have been purchased out many years in the past, legal professional Robert Meloni advised The Put up.
“Nobody knew about them,” Meloni mentioned, noting the Sullivan trio have been kids after they inherited their shares.
“It was an honest mistake. We thought they had been bought out.”
Oriolo “intends to engage in good faith discussion with the three Sullivan heirs to make sure they’re treated right and fairly,” the legal professional pledged, whereas noting, “What they’re entitled to remains to be seen.”
A lawyer for the Sullivan heirs disagreed.
“We are confident that the evidence will show Mr. Oriolo was well aware of our clients’ ownership interests in the company,” legal professional Evan Michailidis mentioned.