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Oculus wants a new trial in ZeniMax case

VR company says initial verdict was "tainted" and the $500 million damages "excessive"

Oculus wants a new trial in its protracted legal dispute with ZeniMax Media, on the grounds that the verdict went "against the great weight of the evidence."

According to a legal document obtained by Upload VR, Oculus VR has moved for a "partial new trial" in a case that it initially lost, with ZeniMax being awarded $500 million in damages.

That verdict, Oculus argued, was "against the great weight of the evidence." The pioneering VR company also called the amount of damages awarded "excessive," and said that the jury's decision was "tainted" by "unreliable and prejudicial expert testimony." If a new trial is granted, Oculus founder Palmer Luckey will likely appear in court despite having officially left the company on March 31.

Similar concerns were voiced by Oculus CTO John Carmack in the aftermath of the initial verdict. Carmack, whose work with Oculus while still at ZeniMax was at the heart of the lawsuit, said he "disagreed with their characterization, misdirection, and selective omissions."

Carmack is now engaged in a separate, $22.5 million lawsuit with ZeniMax, who he claims has withheld money he is owed from the acquisition of id Software.

ZeniMax has also continued with legal action, filing for an injunction against all Oculus software that uses contested lines of code.

We have asked ZeniMax for comment.

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Matthew Handrahan

Editor-in-Chief

Matthew Handrahan joined GamesIndustry in 2011, bringing long-form feature-writing experience to the team as well as a deep understanding of the video game development business. He previously spent more than five years at award-winning magazine gamesTM.