Lawsuit Against Disney by Pasadena Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye May Hinge on the Definition of “Video Device”

A judge heard testimony Monday about what constitutes a video device during a hearing in a lawsuit filed by television personality and Pasadena Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye, who alleges that Walt Disney Co. subsidiary Buena Vista Television engaged in questionable accounting and cheated him out profits from his show, “Bill Nye the Science Guy.”

Two experts for Nye told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Cowan that the term “video device” described in a March 1993 agreement by the parties did not contemplate the evolution of modern streaming capabilities, as argued by defense attorney Lucia Coyoca, but simply referred to the commonplace tapes, discs and other physical devices of the time.

Nye’s lawyer, A. Raymond Hamrick III, maintains outside expert testimony is needed to interpret the 1993 contract regarding its alleged inapplicability with modern digital rentals and with subscription services such as Netflix because they did not exist at the time and had no associated manufacturing costs. But Coyoca stated in her court papers that those issues can be decided without outside testimony.

Much of Monday’s testimony was so raw that one of Nye’s experts, David Tenzer, an expert on revenue streams regarding modern technology, was asked to break down for the judge the distinction between a royalty and a license. The judge will decide later whether a jury is needed to decide some of the disputes in the case or if he will hold a non-jury trial on the accounting issues.

Due to concerns about the coronavirus, the hearing was conducted with Nye, the attorneys and the witnesses connected by remote video to the courtroom, where only the judge and his staff were present.

Nye, who is scheduled to testify as soon as Tuesday, filed the lawsuit in August 2017, alleging he and the other owners of the show are owed $28.1 million and Nye himself is owed at least $9.4 million.

Nye’s television series originally ran from 1992 to 1997 on PBS, and is still streamed on services such as Netflix. Buena Vista struck a deal to distribute, market and promote the series starting in 1993.

Nye, 65, alleges he was supposed to make 16.5% of net profits from the show. In 2008, Buena Vista sent him a royalty check for $585,123. According to the lawsuit, Buena Vista then told Nye there was an accounting error and that he actually owed the studio $496,111.

Nye alleges he was wary of the bookkeeping and tried to negotiate with Buena Vista, but the company failed to cooperate with his attempts to audit the earnings of the show. Nye alleges Buena Vista stopped making royalty payments in 2008 because of the dispute.

The lawsuit alleges the defendants did not act in good faith to resolve the dispute and maintains the companies of were part of a conspiracy to deceive Nye.