Activision hearing delayed at last minute

This is the blockbuster case involving the video game giant and the two guys who created "Call of Duty" - and who were fired by Activision. The co-creators, Jason West and Vincent Zampella, sued Activision and Activision countersued. A hearing was about to get started this morning when Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle announced that the court would be in recess until Wednesday morning. That immediately raised speculation about settlement talks, the LAT's Ben Fritz reports.

Asked whether the delay was to allow for settlement discussions, lawyers said afterward that they were under strict instructions not to discuss the matter. "[The judge] asked us not to comment," said Bruce Isaacs, who represents 40 developers who worked on 2009's hit Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Bobby Schwartz, who represents Call of Duty , whose firing in 2010 kicked off what has become the biggest legal dispute in the history of the video game industry, said, "I can't tell you a thing."

The jury trial is scheduled to begin on Friday.