In new court papers, the producers of Kate Beckinsale’s 2024 film “Canary Black” call her lawsuit “frivolous” and have denied any liability for the serious knee injury the actress says she suffered while being asked to perform stunts on the fast-paced action movie.
Attorneys for Anton Entertainment Media Services Inc., Canary Black Ltd. and producer John Zois filed court papers on Jan. 9 with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jerrold Abeles stating that the 52-year-old Beckinsale’s injuries were caused by either “the sole or the partial negligence of plaintiff,” and that any recovery should therefore be barred or reduced.
The defense attorneys further contend in their pleadings that Beckinsale’s lawsuit is “frivolous and is not based on good faith” and that therefore the producers and Zois are entitled to recover their costs for their defense, including attorneys’ fees and reasonable expenses.
The same lawyers also state that what happened to Beckinsale was an “act of God” that was “solely caused by a natural cause which no one could reasonably be expected to anticipate.”
Beckinsale’s lawsuit was originally filed in December 2024 with the actress identified only as a Jane Doe. The complaint was amended last May 21 using her full name. Beckinsale is the lead actress of the action-thriller film and during production in Croatia in late-2022 and early-2023, she was “repeatedly exposed to unsafe and dangerous conditions,” ultimately resulting in suffering “severe and debilitating injuries” that included significant trauma to her left knee, the suit states.
Throughout the filming, Beckinsale and her team repeatedly raised red flags about unsafe conditions on and off the set, including long, dangerous set days that often lasted 15 hours, plus inadequate equipment and medical personnel to help manage the high physical workload, the suit states.
Trial of the case is scheduled May 24, 2027.