Fate of Activision Blizzard lawsuit unclear as California lawyer accuses governor of interference

A lawyer with California’s Department of Fair Housing and Employment has resigned after accusing Gov. Gavin Newsom of interfering with the state’s Activision Blizzard lawsuit, according to a Bloomberg report.

The lawyer, Melanie Proctor, worked as assistant chief counsel for DFEH, and told staff Tuesday night she was resigning after her boss, chief counsel Janette Wipper, was fired by the governor, Bloomberg reports. The two lawyers left the Activision Blizzard lawsuit earlier this month, according to court documents filed April 5. A representative for the lawyers confirmed to Bloomberg that Proctor resigned and that Wipper was fired. With the two top lawyers off the Activision Blizzard case, the fate of the lawsuit becomes unclear, Bloomberg said.

Bloomberg reports that Proctor told staff that Newsom “began to interfere” with the Activision Blizzard lawsuit, and that his interference began “mimicking the interests of Activision’s counsel.” Wipper was fired after “attempting to protect” the DFEH’s investigation, Bloomberg said. A spokesperson for Wipper told Bloomberg she’s “evaluating all avenues of legal recourse including a claim under the California Whistleblower Protection Act.”

The DFEH told Polygon that it does not comment on “personnel matters,” and said that the department will “continue to vigorously enforce California’s civil rights and fair housing laws.” Polygon has also reached out to Newsom’s press office, but did not hear back before publication time.

The agency filed the lawsuit in July 2021 after a two-year investigation into widespread sexism and sexual harassment at the Overwatch and Call of Duty publisher. The explosive lawsuit accused the company of “constant sexual harassment” from what it described as a “frat boy” culture at Activision Blizzard. In the time since, the company has faced multiple lawsuits and employee walkouts. Employees have also called for CEO Bobby Kotick to resign following a Wall Street Journal report that uncovered the extent of Kotick’s knowledge of employee misconduct.

Activision Blizzard settled another lawsuit, filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, for $18 million in September. The DFEH tried to intervene and block that settlement; a judge rejected the attempt earlier this year.

In January, Microsoft announced its intention to acquire Activision Blizzard in a landmark $68.7 billion deal, which will face scrutiny from regulators with the Federal Trade Commission. Chief executive Bobby Kotick also is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice over potential insider trading, the Wall Street Journal reported.