Sony and Bungie are pushing back against former Marathon director Chris Barrett’s lawsuit, calling it a “baseless attempt” to get the money he “is not (and never was) entitled” to.
Chris Barrett, a longtime Bungie director who was fired last year over alleged misconduct, is locked in a heated courtroom fight with his former employer. He’s suing Sony and Bungie for $200 million, claiming they wrongfully terminated him to avoid paying out nearly $50 million in contractual payments. He also alleges defamation, saying Bungie’s handling of his firing damaged his reputation.
Last month, Sony filed a response for partial dismissal that revealed disturbing text messages that it says Barrett sent to multiple female employees at Bungie. The messages allegedly included flirtatious remarks and invitations to late-night chats from Barrett.
The companies filed a new motion this week, further supporting the partial dismissal and asking the court to throw out most of Barrett’s claims. In the filing, they argue that his lawsuit is packed with “outrageous claims,” calling it a desperate attempt to grab money he wasn’t owed. They say his lawsuit is nothing more than a “baseless attempt to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Sony and Bungie Fire Back in Court
In their latest filing, obtained by The Game Post, Sony and Bungie argue that Barrett’s claims don’t hold up legally and should be dismissed. They’re asking the court to throw out six of the seven claims in his lawsuit.
One of their biggest points? Barrett wasn’t forced to resign, he was fired. His lawsuit claims he was “constructively dismissed,” meaning his working conditions were made so bad that he had no choice but to leave. But Bungie says that argument makes no sense, because he didn’t quit, he was let go.
“It is undisputed that Barrett did not resign from Bungie; as the Complaint repeatedly stresses, ‘Defendants … terminated Barrett.’ Because Barrett cannot allege that he resigned, his constructive dismissal claim fails, and the Court’s analysis need go no further.”
The companies also addressed Barrett’s defamation claims over an August 2024 Bloomberg article that reported on his firing. He argues that Bungie and Sony provided statements that hurt his reputation. But Sony and Bungie claim they never even commented on his case, they only made a general statement about their policy of investigating misconduct.
“Sony explicitly stated it ‘would not comment on Barrett’s case,'” the filing points out, saying that his claims are based on a misleading interpretation of what was actually said.
“Barrett’s 82-page Complaint demonstrates that this case is a baseless attempt to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars to which Barrett is not (and never was) entitled. His pleading is divorced from the law, exceeds the jurisdiction of this Court, and alleges claims for which there is no basis in fact”
They also argue that the Washington Wage Rebate Act (WRA) doesn’t apply to Barrett because he was not a Washington employee when he was fired and that the money he’s demanding wasn’t wages, it was part of a payout from Sony’s Bungie acquisition.
“This claim must be dismissed because (1) the contracts at issue select Delaware, not Washington, law; (2) the WRA does not apply to Barrett as he was not a Washington-based employee; and (3) payments based on an employee’s equity interest are not “wages” under the WRA.”
On top of that, they say his claims about not getting mental health leave don’t add up. Barrett argues that he was refused a mental health leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). But Sony and Bungie say he was actually given a 30-day sabbatical and never even completed the paperwork to take official FMLA leave.
“The Complaint concedes that once Barrett requested leave, Bungie provided him with the requisite FMLA paperwork, but that he had not completed it as of January 2024,” the document reads.
“Despite this (and without Barrett having provided a doctor’s recommendation), Bungie still granted Barrett time off, in the form of a sabbatical. And while on leave, Barrett was terminated following Bungie’s investigation into his misconduct.”
Barrett’s lawsuit isn’t the only legal issue Bungie is dealing with right now. The developer is also facing a separate lawsuit over allegations of plagiarism. Author Kelsey Martineau has accused Bungie of copying his work for Destiny 2’s Red War campaign, claiming that the story, characters, and story elements were taken from his unpublished works.
You can read the full 60-page document here.
Sony and Bungie Call Former Director Chris Barrett’s $200M Lawsuit 'Baseless Attempt to Obtain Hundreds… by TheGamePost
