In spring 2018, “Stranger Things” creators Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer were sued for allegedly stealing the idea for the hit Netflix show. Filmmaker Charlie Kessler claimed that the Duffer Brothers took a central plot point for “Stranger Things” from his short film Montauk. Kessler’s case against the Duffer Brothers is now headed to a jury trial after a judge denied the Duffers’ motion for a summary judgment, The Hollywood Reporter reports and Pitchfork can confirm. Los Angeles County Superior Court records, viewed by Pitchfork, show that the trial is currently slated to begin on Monday, May 6.
In his initial lawsuit, Charlie Kessler stated that he and his agents pitched a Montauk-inspired series to the Duffer Brothers, who apparently did not express interest. A lawyer for the Duffer Brothers later claimed that his clients did not “manifest any intent to enter into a binding agreement” with Kessler and called Kessler’s claims “meritless.”
When contacted by Pitchfork today, a Netflix spokesperson replied, “The Duffer Brothers have our full support. This case has no merit, which we look forward to being confirmed by a full hearing of the facts in court.”
S. Michael Kernan, an attorney for Kessler, told Pitchfork: “Now that the Judge has ruled and denied their motion for summary judgment, we can now dispense with the nonsense promoted by the Duffers and Netflix that this lawsuit has no merit, and that they had ‘proof’ that they created the show. If the lawsuit had no merit, or if they actually had the ‘proof’ they created it, then their summary judgment would have won. They lost. These motions are very hard to fight and winning this Motion shows Mr. Kessler has a good case. We look forward to proving Mr. Kessler’s case at trial.”
Pitchfork has reached out to attorneys for the Duffer Brothers for comment.
https://pitchfork.com/news/stranger-things-plagiarism-suit-headed-to-trial
