Basically, the lawsuit came because Disney continues to make money off the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, but if the company had been made aware it was going to be sued, Disney may have acted differently.
However, this most recent lawsuit never even made it to a discussion of the work in question.
Two judges held to this idea, though one did dissent, arguing that the idea that Disney would not have pursued the Pirates franchise to be “implausible” and also feeling that at the very least, it was a question that needed to be explored in court.
Instead, the 9th Circuit has upheld a lower court ruling, that Royce Mathew never properly informed Disney that he was rescinding the release he signed prior to filing the new lawsuit.