Gurneys Regain Control of Duck Dynasty Producer, ITV to Appeal

LOS ANGELES: A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has reinstated Scott and Deirdre Gurney as heads of Gurney Productions, the company that they founded and ran until a recent legal spat with ITV America.

In December, the Gurneys were removed from their roles at the company, behind the reality hit Duck Dynasty, amid allegations of fraud and deception in a lawsuit filed by parent company ITV America. A judge has ruled in favor of the Gurneys and their request for an injunction against ITV’s actions, placing the execs back in day-to-day management of the outfit as the legal battle continues.

ITV issued the following statement regarding the developments: “ITV respects the court’s ruling today in which the judge expressly declined to opine on the merits of ITV’s claims and instead decided on a preliminary issue of contractual interpretation. We remain very confident of success in the merits of our case, and fully expect to win once the allegations of deceit, fraud and self-dealing by the Gurneys are exposed at a full trial. ITV is appealing the judge’s preliminary ruling, and neither Scott nor Deirdre Gurney can return to Gurney Productions until our appeal has been decided.”