Eisner Expected to Testify Today

Walt Disney Co. Chairman Michael Eisner is expected to testify today in the breach-of-contract lawsuit brought by former studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, who sued seeking more than $250 million on bonuses he claims he’s owed.

Eisner’s testimony will follow a day in which Katzenberg’s attorneys put two Disney officials, director Irwin Russell and Senior Executive Vice President Sandy Litvack, on the stand in an effort to establish that Katzenberg did not forfeit a special 2% profit bonus when he took advantage of an option to leave Disney in 1994, two years before his contract expired.

Katzenberg and Disney reached a partial settlement in 1997 and are now in trial before a referee in a Century City law office to decide how much Katzenberg is owed.