Basket and ex-Employee Pick Retired Calif. Appeals Court Judge as Mediator

Plaintiff Basket Entertainment and defendant John Cannata picked retired judge Robert Dondero to mediate their employment dispute (see 2402130018), said their notice Tuesday (docket 2:23-cv-01028) in U.S. District Court for Middle Florida in Fort Myers. Dondero spent 10 years on the California Court of Appeal and 17 years as a Superior Court judge in San Francisco, per his JAMS bio. Basket, a developer of online games and mobile apps for the Roblox platform, hired Cannata as vice president and placed him on the board in July to identify acquisition targets to grow its user base. It alleges Cannata almost immediately went behind its back and acquired ownership interests in at least two online games for himself without ever presenting them as opportunities to his employer. The defendant contends that he operates one of the most successful gaming studios on the Roblox platform. He alleges Basket "fraudulently induced" him last summer to sign an "asset contribution agreement" under which he joined Basket’s board and contributed a number of his companies’ video games to Basket. He further alleges that Basket never paid him for his services.