California's case against video game specialist Activision Blizzard enters another round, with a Bloomberg report alleging that California Governor Gavin Newsom's office sought to "interfere" in the lawsuit between the state's Department of Fair Employment and Housing and Activision Blizzard over allegations of sexual harassment. and discrimination.
And when the lawsuit's attorney, Janet Webber, attempted to preserve the department's independence, she was allegedly fired by Newsom, leading the assistant chief counsel for the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing known as DFEH, Melanie Proctor, to resign in protest.
According to a Bloomberg report, Proctor sent an email to employees saying, "The governor's office has repeatedly requested advance notice of litigation strategy and next steps in litigation. As we continue to win in state court, this interference has increased, mimicking the interests of Activision attorneys."
“Allegations of intrusion into our office are categorically false,” Erin Mellon, director of communications for Governor Newsom, said in a statement cited by The Verge. in its efforts to combat all forms of discrimination and protect Californians." Asked whether Newsom had fired Weber, Mellon said she could not comment on personnel matters.
Activision Blizzard recently settled with the EEOC to raise $18 million for the Victim Compensation Fund. The DFEH sought to block that settlement, claiming it could allow Activision Blizzard the ability to destroy evidence or excuse the company from the state's allegations. After trying to stop the settlement, a California judge eventually denied the DFEH's requests, paving the way for the settlement to be approved at the end of March.
The $18 million settlement has been criticized for being a drop in the sea for the $1 billion company Riot Games, a similar multi-billion dollar video game publisher, has settled its $100 million harassment lawsuit, high-profile lawyer Lisa Bloom, who brought her case Against the company, she held a press conference in December, saying, "Given that there have been hundreds of victims, I think we can all agree that the $18 million figure is woefully insufficient."