A jury on Monday ruled that Disney did not copy "Moana" from a story by Buck Woodall about a young surfer.

The Los Angeles federal jury reached this verdict after deliberating for approximately two and a half hours on Monday. They also concluded that the creators of "Moana" never had any access to Woodall's script and outlines for "Bucky the Surfer Boy."

The hearing is related to allegations made by Woodall, a writer and animator from New Mexico, who claimed that Disney's "Moana" was based on his screenplay. His story revolves around a boy who befriends Native Hawaiian teens on vacation in Hawaii. He goes on a quest involving time travel and demigods to protect a sacred site from commercial development. It was also noted that both stories featured a young protagonist who ignores parental advice and undertakes a perilous journey across Polynesian waters to save a threatened land.

Woodall alleged that he shared his script with the stepsister of his brother's wife, Jenny Marchick, who worked for Mandeville Films—a company that maintained a contract with Disney. He noted that he shared the script in 2004 and was surprised when "Moana" hit theaters 12 years later.

In response, Disney's defense lawyer Moez Kaba said the film was clearly the result of the creation of John Musker and Ron Clements, the writers and directors behind other hits of the studio, including "The Little Mermaid" (1989) and "The Princess and the Frog" (2009).

"They had no idea about Bucky," Kaba said in his closing early Monday. "They had never seen it, never heard of it."

A judge had previously ruled that Woodall's 2020 lawsuit was filed too late to claim any share of "Moana's" nearly $700 million global box office success. The only remaining financial issue involves the film's DVD and Blu-ray sales.

Woodall filed a second lawsuit regarding Moana 2, which grossed over $1 billion worldwide. However, the judge chose not to merge the two lawsuits. The newer case, seeking damages up to $10 billion, will proceed separately.

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