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Thompson threatens to "destroy" Take-Two as legal battle continues

The continuing legal battle between publisher Take-Two and Jack Thompson became more aggressive over the weekend as the controversial Miami attorney threatened to "destroy" the publisher after it filed a pre-emptive lawsuit.

The continuing legal battle between publisher Take-Two and Jack Thompson became more aggressive over the weekend as the controversial Miami attorney threatened to "destroy" the publisher after it filed a pre-emptive lawsuit.

Take-Two seeks to block Thompson's attempts to have upcoming Rockstar titles Grand Theft Auto IV and Manhunt 2 declared a public nuisance.

"I have been praying, literally, that Take-Two and its lawyers would do something so stupid... that such a misstep would enable me to destroy Take-Two," said Thompson in a statement issued to the press and reported by gamepolitics.com.

"The pit Take-Two has dug for itself will be patently clear next week when I strike back," he added.

Take-Two's lawsuit alleges that Thompson's attempts to label games as a public nuisance violates the rights of the First Amendment.

"Thompson has a history of making multiple threats of legal action, whether substantiated or not, both against (Take-Two) as well as the retailers who purchase the videogames and offer them for sale to the public," reads Take-Two's suit.

It continues: "Because of the vague terms of the nuisance statutes, application of those laws to GTA IV and Manhunt 2 also creates a chilling effect as videogame creators, designers, developers, publishers and distributors will respond to the uncertainty of the law by self-censoring, depriving the public of access to undeniably protected expression."

The lawsuit also lists a number of previously failed attempts by Thompson to restrict the sale of Rockstar games including the recently released Bully.

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Matt Martin

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Matt Martin joined GamesIndustry in 2006 and was made editor of the site in 2008. With over ten years experience in journalism, he has written for multiple trade, consumer, contract and business-to-business publications in the games, retail and technology sectors.