R.L. Stine's fallout with Scholastic

Following several lawsuits between Scholastic and Parachute Press, Scholastic chose not to renew R.L. Stine's contract. Early in the year 2000, all Goosebumps series were abruptly halted.

Legal dispute
In the late 1990's, Parachute Press, Inc. and Scholastic Entertainment Inc. were involved in several lawsuits. The lawsuits were initially spurred on by Parachute, Joan Waricha, and R.L. Stine's wife, Jane Stine.

On March 15, 1996, Jane Stine and her partner Joan Waricha demanded the marketing rights to the Goosebumps series from Scholastic.

Parachute's first action against Scholastic was technically part of a class action suit on August 1, 1997 captioned "Scholastic Corporation Securities Litigation, 97 Civ.II 2447 (JFK)". This suit alleged that Scholastic had mismanaged the Goosebumps franchise, causing a loss in revenue from missed business deals.

Parachute filed suit again with "Parachute Press, Inc. v. Scholastic Inc., Scholastic Productions, Inc. and Scholastic Entertainment Inc., 97 Civ. 8510 (JFK)". While legal proceedings commenced November 14, 1997, it was not until January 29, 1999 that the case was dismissed. In August 2000, the dismissal was appealed and brought back to court.

On February 1, 1999, Scholastic also filed suit the same day with the case captioned "Scholastic Inc. and Scholastic Entertainment Inc. v. Parachute Press, Inc., Parachute Publishing, LLC, Parachute Consumer Products, LLC, and R.L. Stine (Index No. 99/600512)". the suit claimed that Stine had breached his standard-issue publishing contract. Parachute would also file another suit the same day captioned "Parachute Press, Inc .v. Scholastic Inc., Scholastic Productions, Inc. and Scholastic Entertainment Inc. (Index No. 99/600507)". In this document, Parachute claimed that Scholastic was being excessively strict regarding their contract with Stine. Parachute also demanded approximately $36.1 million in financial reparations.

Marketing
One of the leading factors in the schism between Parachute Press and Scholastic was the battle for marketing rights. Both organizations held rights to elements of the Goosebumps franchise.

While the two brands fought over the rights to the Goosebumps franchise, many Goosebumps oriented business deals were stalled or cancelled. At the time, a Goosebumps film had been discussed, but was ended due to the legal battle.

Ghostwriters
According to one LA Times article, Scholastic's 1999 lawsuit claimed that Stine was employing ghostwriters for some Goosebumps books.

Aftermath
As a result of the legal battle between Scholastic and Parachute, Scholastic's stock market value dropped more than fifty percent in 1997. However, Scholastic began to recover in 1998.

By 2003, Scholastic agreed to purchase all rights to the Goosebumps franchise for $9.65. This decision led to the first set of Goosebumps reprints and eventually the Goosebumps revival in 2008. In 2003, Jane Stine was quoted as saying, "I'm happy with the way things turned out and excited about the future."