Former Arms Dealer Beats Writer on ‘War Dogs’ Story Ownership

A true crime writer doesn’t own the rights to the story about a former arms dealer that became the Warner Bros. movie “War Dogs,” according to the Southern District of Florida.

The contract assigning Matthew Cox’s copyright in his manuscript to former arms dealer Efraim Diveroli was “clear and unambiguous,” and Cox didn’t prove that he was fraudulently induced to sign it, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida said Sept. 27

Cox met Diveroli while in prison for mortgage fraud. Diveroli paid Cox $500 for the first draft of a book about Diveroli called “Once a ...