In April 2018, two of Roger Corman’s sons filed a lawsuit against their parents seeking to void the sale of the family’s roughly 270-film library, arguing the catalog belonged to an irrevocable family trust and was not their mother and father’s to sell. The Roger Corman sons’ lawsuit over the film library was withdrawn eight months later, and the broader family trust dispute it grew out of settled in February 2020 on undisclosed terms.
What the Sons Claimed About the Sale
On March 15, 2018, Roger and Julie Corman announced they had sold the New Horizons Pictures library to Shout! Factory and the China-based Ace Film HK Company. Shout! Factory took rights for North America, Europe, Australia, and Russia; Ace Film took rights for China, the rest of Asia, Africa, and South America.1The Hollywood Reporter. Shout Factory, China’s Ace Film HK Buy Roger Corman Film Library The price was not disclosed. The buyers said they planned to use the titles for new content development, remakes, merchandise licensing, and streaming.2Deadline. Shout Factory, Ace Film Acquire Roger Corman Library
On April 2, 2018, Roger Martin Corman and Brian Corman filed a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking to unwind the deal. Their attorney, Alex Weingarten of Venable LLP, summed up the theory in one line: “You can’t sell what you don’t own.”3IndieWire. Roger Corman Lawsuit: New Horizon Pictures
The petition alleged the sale amounted to wrongful conversion of trust property and pointed to prior sworn testimony from Julie Corman in 2012 in which she had identified the Pacific Trust as the copyright owner of certain films in the library, including the Black Scorpion movies and television series. The sons also argued that Shout! Factory and Ace Film “knew or should have known” the catalog included trust assets, and that no experienced buyer conducting proper due diligence could have believed otherwise.4Deadline. Roger Corman Lawsuit: Sons File Trust Fight Over Film Library
They asked the court for a declaration confirming the trust’s ownership, an injunction against further exploitation of the films, a constructive trust over any profits from the sale, double damages, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees.4Deadline. Roger Corman Lawsuit: Sons File Trust Fight Over Film Library
The Trust at the Center of the Case
The film library suit turned on the Pacific Trust, an irrevocable trust the Cormans established in 1978 with an initial $600,000 of Roger Corman’s separate property. Roger served as trustee; the couple’s four children were the beneficiaries. Over the following decades the trust grew substantially through the production of 168 films. Two other family trusts, the Tessa Trust and the MG Trust, also held family assets.
The film library itself was built through Concorde-New Horizons, the production company Roger Corman founded in 1983 and financed personally. Its output over the years included cult titles such as Rock ‘N’ Roll High School, Piranha, The Little Shop of Horrors, Humanoids from the Deep, and Galaxy of Terror. The sons’ position was that the trust, not their parents individually, owned the films.
The Larger Family Fight
The 2018 filing was one front in a family dispute that had been in court since 2009. In 2008, all four Corman children were fired from Concorde-New Horizons. Roger Martin had been vice president of marketing for eleven years; Brian had been director of operations for the same period. The company’s controller terminated them by email, stating that “Concorde was now a charity.”5Courthouse News Service. Children of Movie Man Roger Corman Sue Mom and Dad for a Look at the Books The sons alleged the firings followed their questions about trust finances.
In 2009, Roger Martin and Brian petitioned Los Angeles County probate court for formal accountings of the Pacific, Tessa, and MG trusts, removal of their parents as trustees, and the return of trust assets. The trusts were valued at between $120 million and $160 million.6Los Angeles Times. Director Roger Corman and His Sons Reach a Settlement Agreement Following Long-Running Lawsuit The case, filed under number SP007923, produced a 2013 ruling largely in the parents’ favor, a 2016 California Court of Appeal decision that reversed several of those rulings, and years of further proceedings on remand.
Court filings described sharp conflict between the parents themselves. The sons alleged that when Roger Corman proposed transferring $30 million to $40 million to each of his four children, Julie “became abusive toward her husband and other family members, and commenced to undermine the beneficial interests held by the children notwithstanding the irrevocability of the trusts.”7New York Times. Roger Corman Lawsuit Sons A 2009 declaration from their sister Catherine Corman alleged that their mother had pressured their father to keep financial information from the children.4Deadline. Roger Corman Lawsuit: Sons File Trust Fight Over Film Library These allegations were made by one side in contested litigation; the parents maintained throughout that they had managed the trusts properly.
How the Film Library Suit Ended
In December 2018, the sons filed a petition to dismiss the film library case with prejudice, ending their challenge to the sale without any ruling on whether the films belonged to the trust.6Los Angeles Times. Director Roger Corman and His Sons Reach a Settlement Agreement Following Long-Running Lawsuit The sale to Shout! Factory and Ace Film stood.
How the Broader Dispute Ended
The probate case continued into 2020. A bench trial began in February of that year, but before it concluded the parties signed two settlement agreements on February 10, 2020. The terms were not made public. Roger Corman told the Los Angeles Times, “It’s settled and over.” An attorney for the sons declined to discuss specifics but said “it’s fair to say the parties are satisfied.”6Los Angeles Times. Director Roger Corman and His Sons Reach a Settlement Agreement Following Long-Running Lawsuit
Roger Corman died on May 9, 2024, at 98. He was survived by Julie and their four children.8The Guardian. Roger Corman Obituary Court records show some Pacific Trust proceedings continued after the settlement, including matters involving a guardian ad litem appointed for a minor beneficiary, but the core litigation over trust management and the film library sale had closed.9Rulings.law. SP007923 Tentative Ruling