MGM and Fox Settle $8.7M James Bond Class Action Lawsuit

The settlement comes in a lawsuit over customers who bought a box set advertising “all” Bond films who didn’t get ‘Casino Royale’ and ‘Never Say Never Again.’
Assuming all die-hards who purchased the 50th anniversary James Bond DVD box set wish to get their hands on the 007 movie in which David Niven played the British spy, MGM and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment will now be providing it at no extra charge. This past week, a motion for final approval of a class action settlement was filed in Washington federal court that could mean $8.7 million worth of digital copies of Casino Royale and Never Say Never Again are made available to consumers.

A little more than a year ago, Mary Johnson sued on behalf of herself and others who bought the Bond 50 box set upon packaging that stated, “All the Bond films gathered together for the first time,” only to be disappointed by the absence of the above-mentioned two films. The lawsuit claimed a violation of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act.

Neither Casino Royale nor Never Say Never Again were associated with MGM. The first was a Columbia Pictures spoof starring Niven, Woody Allen, Peter Sellers and Orson Welles. The latter was a film from Kevin McClory, the screenwriter who worked with Bond author Ian Fleming in creating Thunderball and who at one point claimed co-ownership in the character. Sean Connery reprised the role that made him famous.

“Despite representing that the Sets contain EVERY charismatic star, David Niven, the ‘charismatic star’ of Casino Royale is missing from the Sets,” stated the complaint, which added for extra context, “David Niven was James Bond creator Ian Fleming’s first choice to play James Bond in the James Bond movies.”