Atari updates status on lawsuits

Despite having announced its quarterly results two weeks ago, Atari didn't get around to filing them with the Securities and Exchange Commission until this week. The important numbers were the same, but the filing did contain some new status updates on the company's ongoing legal proceedings.

Last June, a judge said that Atari was entitled to more than $6 million (plus a $150 filing fee) from Games, Inc., Roger W. Ach, II, and Chicago West Pullman, in a suit the publisher filed after a development deal between Atari and Games turned sour. Atari hadn't seen a dime of that money as of December 31, 2005, but earlier this month, the ruling was backed up by a Court of Appeals. The publisher said it is "investigating further options with respect to our collection efforts."

Atari received a better sense of closure in a suit brought against it by Martin Lee Edmondson, the former managing director of Driver-developer Reflections Studio. Edmondson resigned in December of 2004, but the Reflections founder and creator of the Driver franchise filed suit the following March for "constructive unfair dismissal" after an alleged breach of contract. Edmondson had sought an unspecified amount in damages for the dismissal, and Atari settled the matter with a likewise unspecified settlement payment in August.

The publisher also said that it has settled with American Video Graphics to excuse itself from a patent infringement lawsuit that company brought against a host of game-industry players. Atari will pay the company $300,000 and retain the right to sell products that use its patents.

Atari also acknowledged a lawsuit brought against it in August of 2005 by developer Indigo Moon. The developer alleges that it shared information with Hasbro Interactive (now known as Atari Interactive) to work on a possible computerized version of Clue but never received payment for its work. Indigo Moon also claims that its work was used years later in the Clue FX and Clue Mysteries board games. That suit has yet to be resolved.

For more on Atari's literal and figurative trials and tribulations, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.