Stan Lee $1B Lawsuit: Chinese Owners Of Pow! Deny “Meritless” Claim

Camsing International, the Chinese firm which bought Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment last year, has hit back at the legendary comics creator’s $1B fraud lawsuit, describing it as “preposterous” and “completely without merit.”

Lee filed the suit yesterday. But in a statement released by the Chinese firm today, Camsing claims that POW! Entertainment “has not been served with the complaint nor has the filing been confirmed by the listed courthouse.” The firm says it has reviewed the complaint in the media with its legal counsel “and can assure its shareholders that the complaint is completely without merit.”

The statement continues, “In particular, the notion that Mr. Lee did not knowingly grant POW! Entertainment the exclusive rights to his creative works or his identity is so preposterous that the Company has to wonder whether Mr. Lee is personally behind this lawsuit. There is no question that Mr. Lee – who along with his daughter was and remains a substantial POW! Entertainment shareholder – clearly understood the terms of the agreements he signed. The evidence, which includes Mr. Lee’s subsequent statements and conduct, is overwhelming and the Company looks forward to presenting it in court. When and if the complaint is properly served, POW! Entertainment will respond in a timely and appropriate manner through legal channels.”

Lee’s suit, filed yesterday in the Los Angeles Superior Court, claims that POW CEO Shane Duffy and co-founder Gill Champion did not clue him in on terms of the Camsing deal a year ago.

“Defendants conspired and agreed to broker a sham deal to sell POW! to a company in China and fraudulently steal Stan Lee’s identity, name, image, and likeness as part of a nefarious scheme to benefit financially at Lee’s expense,” the suit alleges.

The suit goes on to state that Lee was taken advantage of after the death of his wife in 2017. “Upon her death,” it reads, “Lee at age 94 became the target of various unscrupulous businessmen, sycophant and opportunists who saw a chance to take advantage of Lee’s despondent state of mind, kind heart and devotion to his craft – a devotion that often allowed him to overlook the bad intentions of others when it came to his property.” The suit adds that Duffy and Champion “were two of the opportunists” and preyed “on his infirmities while he was in a state of despair” and claims punitive and compensatory damages in excess of $1B.

Camsing, which acquired POW!’s library IP last year, is a member of Camsing Global Group, a China business consortium founded by Vivian Lo in Hong Kong in 1996. The Hong Kong-based company has offices in Guangzhou, Beijing, Shenzhen, Singapore and Los Angeles and has worked with a number of Hollywood studios.

POW! productions include 2016 drama series Lucky Man, reality TV series Who Wants To Be A Superhero?, features Stan Lee’s Mosaic, Stan Lee Presents: The Condor and Sci-Fi’s TV movie Stan Lee’s Lightspeed as well as media franchise Stan Lee’s Mighty 7.