Blizzard’s chief legal officer has resigned amid lawsuits

Blizzard’s chief legal officer and senior vice president, Claire Hart, has resigned from the company.

Hart spent over three years at the World of Warcraft maker, which is at the centre of ongoing lawsuits being faced by its parent company Activision Blizzard related to toxic workplace culture.

She directed the global legal and public policy team for the studio, while also working for Activision Blizzard, according to her LinkedIn profile.

“The past three years have been full of unexpected twists and turns, but I feel honored to have worked with and met so many great people at Blizzard and across the Activision Blizzard businesses,” she said.

In July, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard accusing it of failing to properly address reports of sexual harassment and discrimination.

The following month, a class action lawsuit was filed against Activision Blizzard by Rosen Law Firm on behalf of the company’s investors. It alleges investors suffered damages because Activision Blizzard “made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose” the workplace issues raised in the DFEH lawsuit.

Activision Blizzard claimed today that it’s working with regulators including the DFEH, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the National Labor Relations Board, “with the goal of improving its workplace policies and procedures and ensuring compliance”.

The statement appears to be at odds with the DFEH’s ongoing lawsuit, which was updated last month to add allegations that Activision Blizzard had shredded documents relating to the case and was now interfering with the department’s mandate to investigate the accusations.

It also emerged on Monday that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has been subpoenaed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission as part of the government agency’s own investigation into the company.