Zampella/West-Acti lawsuit goes to trial in May 2012

A Los Angeles judge has finally set a date as to when the lawsuit between Jason West & Vince Zampella against Activision can begin. The run-in to E3 2012 just got a whole lot more interesting.

Its now been confirmed that the case will begin from Monday, May 7, 2012. The ex-Infinity Ward heads, now leading Respawn Entertainment, are suing the publisher over unpaid royalties from the development of Modern Warfare 2

Months after MW2's release, Activision fired West and Zampella in early March 2010 for what it claimed was "insubordination." The pair fired back with the suit, aiming to claim $125 million in royalties and rights to the Modern Warfare IP.

It was soon countered by Activision, days before the announcement of Respawn's formation, with the former claiming for $400 million of damages from West, Zampella and EA, who were claimed to "hijack" the duo from Infinity Ward via Creative Artists Agency.

"I’m really looking forward to having our day in Court," Zampella told Forbes.

Respawn are currently working on its first game that will be published through EA Partners, with the IP to be owned by the studio.

"We have new and exciting creativity and development going on at Respawn, to be announced in the future," added West.

If there's one pre-E3 event you watch next year, it's gonna have to be this. Lock the mountains and grab popcorn.