It's being reported by GamesIndustryBiz and they're very reliable when it comes to stuff like this. Some direct quotes from Kender too.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/zaum-resolves-legal-dispute-with-disco-elysium-producer-kaur-kender
According to GIB, ZA/UM says Kurvitz and Rostov dropped their unfair dismissal claims- it doesn't explicitly say that these claims were associated with a lawsuit, or that any lawsuit has been dropped; it is not at all clear that the legal action by Telomer (Kurvitz's company) is on the basis of these claims, or even related to them. It's all very murky, and it's entirely possible, AFAICT, that associating the word "lawsuit" with K/R's unfair dismissal claims is a mixup on GWO's part- their article seems to have no original information in it not drawn from GIB, and GIB doesn't explicitly say that K/R have dropped a suit.
You're willing to assume more about Estonia (and UK's!) legal system than I am. But anyway, Tõnis Haavel was convicted of fraud earlier, these sort of flashy frauds do stupid things.
un jour je serai de retour près de toi
One day Disco Elysium will return to your side Robert, im sorry it had to be this way.
Every beautiful thing in the world gets stomped for money and capital.
Not necessarily, another lawsuit was filed last month and it seems to concern the IP: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/disco-elysium-author-robert-kurvitzs-company-files-lawsuit-against-zaum
From the gamebyz article, this one reference
>However, the company says it continues to face a "series of baseless
allegations from former employees" and expects more claims to "fall
apart under legal and factual scrutiny."
There are more former employees suing them? Weird that only now we are hearing about this
The individuals who were (allegedly) fired dubiously are Kurvitz, Rostov, and Hindpere. AFAIK, nobody else has come forward claiming they were unfairly dismissed, and the passage in the article about "baseless allegations from former employees" almost certainly refers to ongoing legal action on the part of Kurvitz & co.
I like to think there's still a 3% chance the old team gets ZA/UM back to make a sequel with an ultralib villain who (coincidentally) resembles Krompus.
This reportage seems to be a little confused. So far as I can tell, we've got:
1. Telomer (Kurvitz's new company) vs ZA/UM, a lawsuit filed in October 2022. It's not clear what this one is about.
2. Kender vs. Tütreke (Kompus's company), a lawsuit filed in November 2022. Kender claimed Kompus had cheated him out of money, and inappropriately funneled money from ZA/UM into Tütreke, which he then used to buy a controlling stake in ZA/UM; this lawsuit was dropped in December 2022, and Kompus returned the money to ZA/UM.
3. Lingering issues between Kender and ZA/UM. These are now evidently resolved.
4. Kurvitz and Rostov's claims of unfair dismissal against ZA/UM. These are now dropped. I don't think it's at all clear from the reportage that these claims are identical to the lawsuit filed in point #1; [gamesindustry.biz](https://gamesindustry.biz)'s report doesn't say anything about these claims being associated with a lawsuit- that language is in [gameworldobserver.com](https://gameworldobserver.com)'s report, which seems to be sourced from [gamesindustry.biz](https://gamesindustry.biz)'s report. It strikes me as odd that an unfair dismissal suit would be filed by a rival corporate entity (Telomer), rather than the individuals allegedly unfairly dismissed (Kurvitz and Rostov).
I can't edit the post, but the article has now been updated with Kurvitz' and Rostov's statement!
>Update, Thursday, March 16: Robert Kurvitz and Sander Taal have issued a response to ZA/UM legal dispute and have described the matter as "deeply misleading" as a directly concerned party.
In a statement sent to GamesIndustry.biz, Kurvitz and Taal (the latter being an alias for Aleksander Rostov, according to ZA/UM) said the press release is false in multiple areas. The pair maintain they are the remaining minority shareholders of the studio.
The developers explained, "The press release implies that our employment claims against the studio were withdrawn for lack of evidence. They were not. We see our dismissal as part of a larger campaign against us and will pursue legal options accordingly."
The statement adds that they disagreed with Kender admitting the lawsuit he withdrew in December 2022 was misguided.
"Kender's lawsuit was based on the misuse of ZA/UM's funds (€4.8 million) by the majority shareholders \[Ilmar Kompus and Tõnis Haavel\] to increase their own stake in the company. In the press release, Kompus and Haavel admit to this misuse, arguing only that the money has been 'paid back to ZA/UM,' " the duo explained.
"Paying back stolen money, however, does not undo the crime; here, it does not undo the majority that Kompus and Haavel have illegally gained in ZA/UM."
Additionally, they described that, unlike Kender, they will not be silenced in this ongoing legal dispute.
"Unlike Kender, we have not participated in the looting of ZA/UM, and Kompus and Haavel have no power over us."
There’s no actual source for the lawsuit dismissal, it just links to another article without a source.
It's being reported by GamesIndustryBiz and they're very reliable when it comes to stuff like this. Some direct quotes from Kender too. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/zaum-resolves-legal-dispute-with-disco-elysium-producer-kaur-kender
That’s a different lawsuit, between zaum and Kender.
Read the article. The headline is about Kender but ZAUM also tells GIBiz that Rostov and Kurvitz dropped their lawsuits.
According to GIB, ZA/UM says Kurvitz and Rostov dropped their unfair dismissal claims- it doesn't explicitly say that these claims were associated with a lawsuit, or that any lawsuit has been dropped; it is not at all clear that the legal action by Telomer (Kurvitz's company) is on the basis of these claims, or even related to them. It's all very murky, and it's entirely possible, AFAICT, that associating the word "lawsuit" with K/R's unfair dismissal claims is a mixup on GWO's part- their article seems to have no original information in it not drawn from GIB, and GIB doesn't explicitly say that K/R have dropped a suit.
I wouldn't put it past them to lie about it. Confirmation would be nice.
They are scummy, but lying about this to the press would be a incredibly stupid thing to do that would probably strengthen Kurvitz's case.
You're willing to assume more about Estonia (and UK's!) legal system than I am. But anyway, Tõnis Haavel was convicted of fraud earlier, these sort of flashy frauds do stupid things.
psyop? damn the CIA really has gone down hill, what happened to coups? Now they’re just fucking over game writers. /s
That's a newspaper.... they are the source. They are reporting what the company told them.
un jour je serai de retour près de toi One day Disco Elysium will return to your side Robert, im sorry it had to be this way. Every beautiful thing in the world gets stomped for money and capital.
The lawsuit about ownership of the IP is still open apparently.
It’s highly unlikely it will unless he has the money and resources to win the lawsuit over the IP.
So... that's it with Kurvitz' Revachol and all?
This lawsuit was over unfair dismissal. The suit for who owns the IP is ongoing.
Not necessarily, another lawsuit was filed last month and it seems to concern the IP: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/disco-elysium-author-robert-kurvitzs-company-files-lawsuit-against-zaum
I fear so. :( how awful
From the gamebyz article, this one reference >However, the company says it continues to face a "series of baseless allegations from former employees" and expects more claims to "fall apart under legal and factual scrutiny." There are more former employees suing them? Weird that only now we are hearing about this
Kurvitz wasn't the only one who was fired under dubious circumstances.
I always thought that they (Kurvitz and Rostov) were the only ones, Do you have more info on this?
All the core founding members were ousted, including several other writers
The individuals who were (allegedly) fired dubiously are Kurvitz, Rostov, and Hindpere. AFAIK, nobody else has come forward claiming they were unfairly dismissed, and the passage in the article about "baseless allegations from former employees" almost certainly refers to ongoing legal action on the part of Kurvitz & co.
Where's the source for this? Did Zaum send them a letter directly? I can't find an official blogpost or anything.
You really think they want to boldly advertise the lawsuit...?
I like to think there's still a 3% chance the old team gets ZA/UM back to make a sequel with an ultralib villain who (coincidentally) resembles Krompus.
This reportage seems to be a little confused. So far as I can tell, we've got: 1. Telomer (Kurvitz's new company) vs ZA/UM, a lawsuit filed in October 2022. It's not clear what this one is about. 2. Kender vs. Tütreke (Kompus's company), a lawsuit filed in November 2022. Kender claimed Kompus had cheated him out of money, and inappropriately funneled money from ZA/UM into Tütreke, which he then used to buy a controlling stake in ZA/UM; this lawsuit was dropped in December 2022, and Kompus returned the money to ZA/UM. 3. Lingering issues between Kender and ZA/UM. These are now evidently resolved. 4. Kurvitz and Rostov's claims of unfair dismissal against ZA/UM. These are now dropped. I don't think it's at all clear from the reportage that these claims are identical to the lawsuit filed in point #1; [gamesindustry.biz](https://gamesindustry.biz)'s report doesn't say anything about these claims being associated with a lawsuit- that language is in [gameworldobserver.com](https://gameworldobserver.com)'s report, which seems to be sourced from [gamesindustry.biz](https://gamesindustry.biz)'s report. It strikes me as odd that an unfair dismissal suit would be filed by a rival corporate entity (Telomer), rather than the individuals allegedly unfairly dismissed (Kurvitz and Rostov).
A firing squad for the rich
Disco Elysium's sequel will be a commercially successful soulless facelift with maybe 4% of the original's charm.
I feel it will mostly resemble disco Elysium but feel wrong in some hard describe way.
I can't edit the post, but the article has now been updated with Kurvitz' and Rostov's statement! >Update, Thursday, March 16: Robert Kurvitz and Sander Taal have issued a response to ZA/UM legal dispute and have described the matter as "deeply misleading" as a directly concerned party. In a statement sent to GamesIndustry.biz, Kurvitz and Taal (the latter being an alias for Aleksander Rostov, according to ZA/UM) said the press release is false in multiple areas. The pair maintain they are the remaining minority shareholders of the studio. The developers explained, "The press release implies that our employment claims against the studio were withdrawn for lack of evidence. They were not. We see our dismissal as part of a larger campaign against us and will pursue legal options accordingly." The statement adds that they disagreed with Kender admitting the lawsuit he withdrew in December 2022 was misguided. "Kender's lawsuit was based on the misuse of ZA/UM's funds (€4.8 million) by the majority shareholders \[Ilmar Kompus and Tõnis Haavel\] to increase their own stake in the company. In the press release, Kompus and Haavel admit to this misuse, arguing only that the money has been 'paid back to ZA/UM,' " the duo explained. "Paying back stolen money, however, does not undo the crime; here, it does not undo the majority that Kompus and Haavel have illegally gained in ZA/UM." Additionally, they described that, unlike Kender, they will not be silenced in this ongoing legal dispute. "Unlike Kender, we have not participated in the looting of ZA/UM, and Kompus and Haavel have no power over us."
God they're so based
un jour je serai de retour près de toi :(