Warner Bros. Discovery has filed suit against Amazon, alleging the tech giant illegally recruited executives still under active employment contracts, including an HBO Max marketing executive whose deal runs through October 2027.
Warner Bros. Discovery filed a lawsuit this week accusing Amazon of interfering with contractual relations, breaching contract, and engaging in unfair competition by recruiting away employees still bound by active employment agreements.
The suit centers on Pia Barlow, an HBO Max marketing executive who recently joined Amazon MGM Studios despite a contract with Warner Bros. Discovery that was not set to expire until October 31, 2027, according to the filing.
Warner Bros. Discovery alleged that Amazon has been "hurriedly seeking to pirate away a number of contracted employees," and that the company acted in "blatant disregard of established California law" by inducing workers under term agreements to break those commitments.
The studio went further, accusing Amazon of promising to protect departing employees from legal consequences. "Amazon has gone rogue by attempting to induce Plaintiffs' employees with term employment agreements to breach those agreements with impunity, backed up with the ready assurance that Amazon will defend and indemnify them should they be held to account for their blatantly unlawful acts," Warner Bros. Discovery said in the filing.
The lawsuit also references a second unnamed executive, believed to be HBO programming executive Francesca Orsi, whose term agreement was not set to expire until December 2027. That individual ultimately remained at Warner Bros. Discovery, the filing indicates.
Amazon MGM Studios declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The legal action arrives at a complicated moment for Warner Bros. Discovery. The company's pending acquisition by Paramount has been paused for at least several months, adding uncertainty to its corporate structure even as it moves to defend its executive ranks through the courts.
Legal observers have noted that the case is likely to reignite long-standing debates over whether term employment agreements are enforceable under California law, a state whose courts have historically favored worker mobility and looked skeptically at non-compete provisions.
The dispute highlights intensifying competition for media talent between legacy studios and streaming-adjacent technology companies, as Amazon continues to expand its content ambitions through Amazon MGM Studios. Whether California courts ultimately side with Warner Bros. Discovery on the enforceability question could carry implications well beyond this particular case.
Sara Montes de Oca is the Editor in Chief of TechEchelon. Previously a correspondent and producer in Washington, D.C., covering business, finance, and politics.
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