Entertainment Disney Ordered to Stop Destroying Documents

In a fight over Winnie the Pooh royalties, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Tuesday ordered Walt Disney Co. to stop destroying documents related to the merchandising agreements for the company’s most lucrative stable of characters.

Judge Ernest Hiroshige issued the injunction as Disney and the company that licenses the late author A.A. Milne’s characters, Steven Slesinger Inc., prepare for a trial that could begin later this year.

The case potentially is worth millions to Slesinger, who originally sued Disney in 1992, claiming it was entitled to royalties from Pooh videotapes and computer software.

Disney officials have maintained that the 1983 merchandising agreement doesn’t apply to videos, since it was signed before videocassette players became commonplace.

Last year, Hiroshige ruled that Disney deliberately destroyed 40 boxes of documents--including a file marked “Winnie the Pooh, legal problems”--that could have been used against the Burbank-based entertainment company.

Court documents from the case have been sealed. A Disney spokeswoman could not be reached late Tuesday.