Cross-Claims Over 1990 Sale of MGM Dismissed

A Los Angeles judge Friday dismissed multimillion-dollar cross-claims by financier Kirk Kerkorian and French bank Credit Lyonnais stemming from the $1.3-billion sale of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Superior Court Judge Richard Hubbell ruled that Kerkorian did not misrepresent the viability of MGM when he sold the studio to Pathe Communications in 1990.

Credit Lyonnais was seeking $500 million from Kerkorian.

But Hubbell rejected Kerkorian’s allegations that Credit Lyonnais misled him about terms of the financing for the deal. Kerkorian had sought between $200 million and $400 million from the bank.

The ruling is the latest in a series of claims and counterclaims by the parties involved in the sale of MGM to Italian businessman Giancarlo Parretti and his firm Pathe.

After Parretti failed to fulfill his obligations to Credit Lyonnais, the bank ousted him and took control of the studio in the spring of 1992.

The judge’s decisions left both sides claiming victory.

“The reality is that Credit Lyonnais totally lost,” said Patricia Glaser, attorney for Kerkorian.

Credit Lyonnais attorney Randolph Fishburn disagreed with Glaser’s conclusion.

“As of today, Kerkorian’s claim against the bank is entirely gone,” he said.