By Lee Pfeiffer
Warner Home Video is suing a California-based company called IWMB for not only failing to destroy hundreds of thousands of excess DVD product, but also for secretly selling the titles to third parties at cut-rate prices. The studio says the end result was a flood of DVDs being sold for prices far below market value. Warners is seeking $10 million in damages from the company. In fact, Warners did not hire IWMB to destroy the product - the company was subcontracted by DVD replicator Cinram, which apparently was unaware of the alleged scheme. According to the suit, IWMB provided Cinram with false documentation indicating that the DVDs had been destroyed when, in fact, they had been sold to other parties who retailed them to the public. Warners estimates that at least 750,000 DVDs were illegally sold into the marketplace. The suit does not name the third parties who allegedly bought them. Warners is seeking a jury trial. Home Video Magazine reports that IWMB president Cal Jones, who is personally named in the suit, has not responded to requests for comments.Â