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Story by Stephany Nunneley

Sat, Jan 07, 2012 | 17:19 GMT

Silicon Knights boss “looking forward” to airing Epic’s “misconduct” in court

A court judge has dismissed the expert testimony of an accountant Silicon Knights recruited to help solidify its case against Epic Games. In response, the firm’s Denis Dyack said the dismissal would be “one of the few rulings that Epic can say went their way.”

Speaking with GI.biz, Dyack said that while he was disappointed the court decided the testimony of charted accountant Terry Lloyd could not be included, Silicon Knights will continue to show Epic’s “misconduct” through the court system.

The judge dismissed the accountant, stating he was “not qualified”, his particular methodologies didn’t “fit the facts of the case” and were “unreliable and speculative.” Epic’s lawyer told the courts that Lloyd’s figures, which concluded SK was entitled to $58 million in damages from the firm, were “made up”.

“It is important that the full extent of the rulings in the case be known,” said Dyack. “Epic filed over 20 separate motions to exclude essentially every aspect of the voluminous evidence against them, including all of Silicon Knights’ expert witnesses and all of the third-party information regarding Unreal Engine 3.

“Other than this one ruling on Mr. Lloyd, they were not successful.

“It is important to understand that the jury decides damages and will hear evidence from many people and see many case documents. Mr. Lloyd’s testimony was only one piece. It remains an inescapable fact that Epic is going to trial for Fraud, Unfair Competition, Deceptive Trade Practices, Breach of Warranty, and Breach of Contract.”

Silicon Knights filed suit against Epic in 2007 before the release of Too Human in 2008, as it felt Epic “defrauded” the studio by misrepresenting its Unreal Engine capabilities. It is also suing for losses due to the delayed release of Too Human, and the subsequent cancellation of sequels in the series.

The last release from the firm was the Activision-published title X-Men Destiny, and after a round of lay-offs in November, the firm stated it was returning to its roots with an unannounced game.