Yahoo has acquired at least ten companies in the past eight weeks, one of which was Qwiki, a 3-year-old video startup. Yahoo paid an estimated $50 million but it may have acquired a lawsuit too.
Qwiki made a splash when it won TechCrunch Disrupt in 2010 as a Wikipedia-like tool that turned information into short videos. It went through multiple pivots and last year it launched an iOS app.
Mobile app development company Chaotic Moon worked with Qwiki on the launch but there was some discrepancy over the payment agreement. Chaotic Moon is suing Doug Imbruce's company for allegedly neglecting to pay $168,000 in fees.
Chaotic Moon says it met every deadline but Qwiki didn't keep up with the bills. The lawsuit was in place prior to the Yahoo acquisition. Chaotic Moon isn't looking for a portion of Yahoo's payout; it just wants its bills from last September paid.
Qwiki acknowledges that bills were sent by Chaotic Moon last September totaling more than $100,000 but says the development company failed to meet "third and fourth milestones."
The matter is still unresolved and currently rests in the hands of the New York City Supreme Court.
Here's Qwiki's defense. And here's Chaotic Moon's initial filing, below.
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