Despite his failure to win a restraining order against the T-rated game Bully,
Jack Thompson has not stopped pursuing Take Two, the game's
distributor. This week, Take Two took a proactive step to stave off
Thompson's prerelease assaults on their titles by filing a federal
court case against him in the state of Florida.
Take Two plans to release Manhunt 2 and Grand Theft Auto IV
later this year, and they would love nothing more than to avoid another
Thompson lawsuit. After Thompson made public statements about his
intent to block both games from being released, the company asked a
judge to "enjoin him from bringing suit on behalf of the State of
Florida to enjoin the sale of GTA IV or Manhunt 2."
Take Two claims that Thompson is misusing Florida's "nuisance" law, and
they point out that attempts to regulate the sale of violent video
games have repeatedly faltered, including cases in which the law was drafted by Thompson himself.
According to a copy of the complaint seen by Ars Technica, Take Two has
just about had it with Thompson's threats, lawsuits, retractions, and
dismissals. Thompson has, in the past, "brought suit on behalf of the
State of Florida, dismissed it, filed again, sought a temporary
restraining order, and then failed to pursue that motion," says the
complaint. Such lawsuits come at "unpredictable times and under
unpredictable circumstances" and can disrupt Take Two's relationships
with retailers, who can also get dragged into these battles (Thompson
at one point sued Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target, GameStop, and others in
the battle over Bully).
Take Two argues that the lawsuits violate its First Amendment rights to
free expression, but it also claims that the suits are so vague as to
be unconstitutional. "This unconstitutional vagueness will have a
chilling effect on Plaintiff as well as Plaintiff's customers," says
the company. "Plaintiff's distributors likely will respond to the
uncertainty and fear of penalties by withholding Plaintiff's video
games from the public."
Take Two asks that Thompson be prevented from bringing a "nuisance"
lawsuit against either of the games in question, and they want
attorneys' fees from him.
Nate Anderson
March 16, 2007
Source:
Ars Technica