Disney Seeks Dismissal of Pooh Suit

Walt Disney Co. on Monday asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit seeking more than $200 million in royalties for Winnie the Pooh merchandise, charging that the heirs to the fortune have been concealing documents that were stolen from Disney.

The motion, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims that the heirs -- an 81-year-old woman and her daughter -- have lied under oath and withheld more than 5,000 pages of stolen evidence.

Attorney Bertram Fields, who represents Shirley Slesinger Lasswell and Patricia Slesinger, insists the documents were legally obtained by an investigator rummaging through dumpsters on the edge of Disney property. “This motion is not only about trash -- it is trash,” Fields said. He said Lasswell became so physically ill after reading a draft of Disney’s motion that she was hospitalized Monday.

The lead attorney for Disney said the “disturbing new revelations” came to light in October after the company subpoenaed Fields’ law firm for previously undisclosed evidence. Fields’ firm complied, turning over thousands of pages, including confidential legal documents belonging to Disney.

The question is how the papers came into the possession of the plaintiffs.

“These revelations are of conduct that thoroughly taints the proceedings,” said Daniel Petrocelli, a Disney attorney.

Petrocelli said the papers provided a critical clue that had long eluded Disney’s attorneys.

In June 1994, an unidentified caller alerted Disney security of the theft of “documents related to Winnie the Pooh.” The caller said he and the hired investigator managed to sneak past Disney security in Burbank to steal documents off desks.

At the time, Disney could not verify the alleged thefts.

On Monday, Fields dismissed Disney’s allegations. “Disney has guards at every gate. How do you break into a Disney building?” Fields said. The documents came from street-side garbage bins, he said. “It’s perfectly legal to take documents from a publicly accessible trash can.”

Petrocelli said the evidence undermines sworn testimony by Lasswell and Slesinger that they were unaware of the thefts.

Two years ago, the judge in the Pooh case sanctioned Disney $90,000 for withholding evidence in 1994. Petrocelli’s motion now asks the judge to penalize the other side -- or dismiss the case.

“No fair trial can possibly occur under these circumstances,” Petrocelli wrote.