
More after the jump.

In June 1994, Valiant was sold to the video game giant Acclaim Entertainment. In 1996, Acclaim renamed and revamped the Valiant Comics line as Acclaim Comics. In 1999, founder Jim Shooter returned to the company to write Unity 2000, which was supposed to revitalize both the Valiant and Acclaim Universes. Unfortunately, the company stopped publishing the mini series half-way through. In 2004, Acclaim filed for bankruptcy and shut down its offices. In 2005, Acclaim auctioned off the rights for Valiant's original characters as part of their bankruptcy proceedings. After a complicated and drawn out process that involved numerous parties, Valiant Entertainment, Inc. (VEI) was recognized as the new owners of the Valiant library of properties.
Now, the legal complications continue. According to Bleeding Cool:
The suit alleges that Shooter broke a three month non-compete clause in his contract, based on e-mails and conversations, but not on a signed document. And that Shooter took home a laptop from VEI that was part of his signing bonus, and that on returning it, Shooter had deleted certain files that he may have considered personal, but VEI didn’t.
I’m sure there will be more to this story and Cup of Geek will follow it closely.