# Appeal court clears Crichton estate’s lawsuit against Warner Bros for trial

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-pitts-battle-with-michael-crichton-estate-heading-to-trial-as-warner-bros-rebuffed-by-appeal-court/
- Published: 2026-11-05T02:33:31+00:00
- Original publisher: Deadline
- Original article: https://deadline.com/2026/11/the-pitt-michael-crichton-estate-lawsuit-trial-1237213710/
- Topics: Entertainment, TV

## Key points

- An appeal court has kept Warner Bros Television in the lawsuit.
- Noah Wyle and the executive producers have been dropped.
- A Los Angeles trial could start as early as next summer.

## Summary

The appeals court has cleared the way for Michael Crichton’s estate to take its lawsuit over The Pitt to trial against Warner Bros Television. The ruling leaves WBTV facing a jury in Los Angeles over claims that the HBO Max drama is linked to ER, while removing Noah Wyle and executive producers John Wells and R. Scott Gemmill from the case.

Crichton’s widow, Sherri Crichton, sued in 2024, arguing that The Pitt followed failed talks to reboot ER and breached a 1994 agreement. WBTV has argued the show was not made by copying ER and sought dismissal under an anti-SLAPP motion, which protects expression from certain lawsuits. Discovery remains ahead, and a trial could begin as early as next summer; the show’s third season is due in January 2027.

## Coverage

- [Deadline: Appeal court clears Crichton estate’s lawsuit against Warner Bros for trial](https://deadline.com/2026/11/the-pitt-michael-crichton-estate-lawsuit-trial-1237213710/)
- [Variety: ‘The Pitt’ and ‘ER’ Are Similar Enough to Allow Crichton Suit, Appeals Court Rules](https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/the-pitt-noah-wyle-crichton-lawsuit-1236939852/)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.