A lot of the sensationalism sturm and drang is misplaced. Many people have a significant "black/white" issue with legal disputes. If someone filed a lawsuit, they must have really been aggrieved. If someone got sued, they must really have done something wrong. If someone sold their assets, they must really be in trouble. None of these things are necessarily true. Whatever the nature of the contract dispute between Metro and Voldy, only one thing is really certain - Metro felt their best option was to file suit. Possibly settlement discussions broke down, or never got off the ground. Possibly Metro really felt that they were going to lose any opportunity to recover because of the Beckett deal. Possibly, Metro saw the opportunity to use the litigation to get even more favorable terms from the new entity, in light of what they perceived as a breach of contract with the old entity.
I feel compelled to continue to try to put a little real life into this thread (and make it clear that all of my speculation is just that) because the shoe banging, pontificating, bloviating, posturing and full blown carnival barking is out of hand. This type of thing happens hundreds of times a day, every day. In construction, tech, health care, personal services, manufacturing, transportation etc. The fact that this one involves comic books does not make the quacking bird any less a duck.