That resulted in the termination of about 1,000 workers with no severance or back pay, representing one of the most stunning and abrupt ends of an entertainment company in recent memory. A judge will need to certify the suit as a class-action case before others beyond the initial 11 plaintiffs can become eligible to participate in the suit. The complaint was provided to Deadline by AlderLaw and filed with L.A. The court has been affected by a ransomware attack coinciding with the CrowdStrike/Microsoft outage, resulting in a prolonged disruption of the court’s electronic filing system.
- The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by Michael Alder and Lani Levine of L.A.
- Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. was an American self-help, consumer goods and media company based in Cos Cob, Connecticut.
- A judge will need to certify the suit as a class-action case before others beyond the initial 11 plaintiffs can become eligible to participate in the suit.
- Spun off from the namesake book publisher in 2017 after Rouhana and a partner acquired the publishing company in 2008, CSSE grew via a string of acquisitions.
- With physical media declining markedly, Redbox was also starved of film titles due to the dual strikes of 2023.
- The court has been affected by a ransomware attack coinciding with the CrowdStrike/Microsoft outage, resulting in a prolonged disruption of the court’s electronic filing system.
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Spun off from the namesake book publisher in 2017 after Rouhana and a partner acquired the publishing company in 2008, CSSE grew via a string of acquisitions. It took over streaming service Crackle from Sony, film outfits Screen Media and 1091 and production entity Sonar Entertainment. Its most ambitious M&A deal, the 2022 purchase of Redbox for $50 million in stock and the assumption of $325 million in debt, would prove to be the company’s downfall.
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It comes after the company careened through a series of financial spasms in recent months before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Amy Newmark, Rouhana’s wife and a former hedge fund executive, is also named as a defendant in the suit. She sat on CSSE’s board of directors until a purge in June and continues to serve as editor-in-chief and publisher of self-help book publisher Chicken Soup for the Soul, which operates separately from CSSE. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. was an American self-help, consumer goods and media company based in Cos Cob, Connecticut. The first book, like most subsequent titles in the series, consisted of inspirational true stories about ordinary people’s lives.
List of Chicken Soup for the Soul books
Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC continued to publish about twelve[7] new books per year. At the heart of the suit is an allegation that Rouhana, Newmark and the company established Chicken Soup for the Soul Productions, LLC as an umbrella entity for a number of smaller entities that were formed or acquired. They then were able to manipulate the books in such a way that employees were bilked out of benefits and denied bonuses and back pay, the suit maintains.
With physical media declining markedly, Redbox was also starved of film titles due to the dual strikes of 2023. Its debt proved unworkable due to disputes with various lenders. The company then fell behind on payments to retailers and studio suppliers. As part of the Chapter 7 ruling, the network of 20,000-plus Redbox kiosks was unplugged for good. The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by Michael Alder and Lani Levine of L.A.
Chicken Soup for the Soul is a series of books, usually featuring a collection of short, inspirational stories and motivational essays. The 101 stories in the first book of the series were compiled by motivational speakers Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. In April 2021, Chicken Soup for the Soul acquired the film and television catalogue of Sonar Entertainment. Already in arrears with payroll, bonuses and benefits when it filed Chapter 11, the company’s proceeding was shifted to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy after financing could not be arranged to keep bills paid during restructuring.