Warner Bros. Discovery filed a lawsuit this week accusing Amazon of interference with contractual relations, breach of contract and unfair competition.
According to Deadlinehe lawsuit alleges that Amazon has been “hastily seeking to hack a number of contract employees,” including Pia Barlow, an HBO Max marketing executive who recently joined Amazon MGM Studios. Warner Bros. (whose pending acquisition by Paramount has been on hiatus for at least a few months) said Barlow’s employment contract “would not expire until October 31, 2027.”
“In blatant disregard for established California law, Amazon has gone rogue by attempting to induce plaintiffs’ employees with term employment contracts to violate those agreements with impunity, backed by the assurance that Amazon will defend and indemnify them should they be held accountable for their blatantly illegal acts,” Warner Bros. said.
The company also accused Amazon of attempting to “tortuously induce another WBD employee to violate his temporary employment contract, which was not due to expire until December 2027,” although that executive (believed to be HBO programming executive Francesca Orsi) ultimately remained at Warner Bros.
Deadline noted that this lawsuit is likely to renew debates over whether temporary employment agreements are actually enforceable under California law.
Amazon MGM Studios declined to comment.
