Disney Wins Major Court Battle in US Over ‘Moana’ Copying Allegations

Walt Disney Co. has been awarded nearly $1.6 million in attorney fees after a federal court in the United States found that trade secret claims alleging the studio copied the story of its animated film Moana were pursued in bad faith. The ruling was delivered by Senior U.S. District Judge Consuelo Marshall of the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

The lawsuit had been filed by animator Buck Woodall, who alleged that Disney stole ideas for Moana from his earlier project titled Bucky the Surfer Boy. Woodall claimed he had shared confidential material with a relative connected to the film industry in 2003 and argued that Disney later used those concepts while developing the 2016 blockbuster film.

However, the court found serious inconsistencies in Woodall’s claims. Judge Marshall observed that Woodall falsely stated he had first watched Moana in 2017 in an apparent attempt to avoid limitation issues, despite evidence showing he had seen the film in 2016 and later on DVD in 2017. The court further held that Woodall had attached a forged confidentiality agreement to support his allegations. During trial proceedings, he admitted that the document had been altered before filing the lawsuit.

The court concluded that the trade secret allegations were “objectively specious” and pursued with “subjective bad faith.” Accordingly, Disney was awarded $1.6 million in attorney fees. Separately, Woodall’s attorney was sanctioned and ordered to pay additional costs for continuing litigation despite knowing the claims were legally defective.

The case was heard before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California involving The Walt Disney Company and its animated film Moana.