The Pitt Lawsuit: ER Creator Michael Crichton's Estate Wins Key Appeal Against Warner Bros

The Pitt lawsuit brought by the estate of ER creator Michael Crichton has cleared another legal hurdle. A California appeals court has ruled that similarities between the two medical dramas are sufficient for the case against Warner Bros Television to move forward. However, the decision does not establish that The Pitt is an unauthorised reboot or that copyright infringement has taken place.

Sherri Crichton, who controls her late husband's estate, filed the lawsuit in August 2024, alleging that the HBO series was developed as an unauthorised continuation of ER. Michael Crichton died in 2008.

What the court said about The Pitt and ER

According to the three-judge panel, “There are clear and numerous similarities between ‘The Pitt’ and ‘ER’; where those similarities lie, on a ladder of abstraction protecting only the more specific expressions, is a matter of ‘degree,’” the judges wrote. They added that the details were sufficient to establish a prima facie case at this stage.

Both shows follow doctors working in emergency rooms, examining their professional and personal lives. The court also noted their fast pacing, overlapping medical crises and specialised dialo

Warner Bros and The Pitt team respond

The appeals court upheld the rejection of Warner Bros Television's attempt to dismiss the lawsuit under California's anti-SLAPP law. However, Noah Wyle, The Pitt creator John Wells and executive producer R Scott Gemmill were dismissed as defendants. The panel found no evidence that they knew about the contractual provisions allegedly breached.

Warner Bros Television maintained that “The Pitt is an entirely original series and that the claims against it are without merit.” The studio added that it looked forward to defending its position as the case proceeds.

How the legal dispute began

Sherri Crichton alleged that Warner Bros had begun developing an ER reboot in 2020 without her knowledge. Negotiations reportedly took place in 2022 but eventually collapsed. ER aired on NBC from 1994 to 2009, while The Pitt premiered in January 2025. The latter has since won major Emmy recognition, including two Best Drama Series awards.