One day before the case is set for trial, Charlie Kessler acknowledges that Matt and Ross Duffer have provided him with evidences that they had been working on the hit series' concept since 2010.

• May 7, 2019

AceShowbiz - A plagiarism lawsuit against "Stranger Things" brothers Matt and Ross Duffer has been dropped after the plaintiff acknowledged the pair came up with the concept for the Netflix hit themselves.

Charlie Kessler had claimed he pitched the concept of a show that became "Stranger Things" to the Duffer Brothers at a Tribeca Film Festival party in New York four years before the show debuted in 2016, and went so far as to offer up "script, ideas, story and film" to the directors.

He also alleged the Duffers used the working title "The Montauk Project" during the early stages of "Stranger Things", which was originally set in the Long Island town of the title. Kessler's short film was called "Montauk".

Despite the Duffers insisting the lawsuit was "completely meritless", a judge overseeing the case ruled it could go ahead after the siblings allegedly failed to produce independent evidence to support their argument, and it was due to head to trial on Tuesday, May 07.

However, on the eve of the trial on Monday, Kessler released a statement in which he said he'd decided to drop the case after being presented with emails and Google documents from the brothers which proved the siblings had been working on the concept since 2010.

"After hearing the deposition testimony this week of the legal expert I hired, it is now apparent to me that, whatever I may have believed in the past, my work had nothing to do with the creation of Stranger Things," the statement read. "Documents from 2010 and 2013 prove that the Duffers independently created their show. As a result, I have withdrawn my claim and I will be making no further comment on this matter."

Netflix added in a statement via a spokesperson: "We are glad to be able to put this baseless lawsuit behind us. As we have said all along, Stranger Things is a ground-breaking original creation by The Duffer Brothers. We are proud of this show and of our friends Matt and Ross, whose artistic vision gave life to 'Stranger Things', and whose passion, imagination and relentless hard work alongside our talented cast and crew made it a wildly successful, award-winning series beloved by viewers around the world."