Courthouse Steps

RELIEF SOUGHT: Damages in the amount of all royalties, plus interest, less any applicable recoupments.

PLAINTIFFS' COUNSEL: Charles Joseph of New York's Joseph & Herzfeld.

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CASE CAPTION: Stuart Sender and Todd Godwin v. Comedy Partners, a joint venture dba Comedy Central; L. A. Superior Court # BC292987.

CAUSES OF ACTION: Breach of implied-in-fact contract and breach of confidence.

COMPLAINT ALLEGATIONS: Sender is an Academy-Award nominated writer and producer. Godwin is an award-winning advertising creative director. Comedy Partners is a joint venture of Time Warner Entertainment Co. LP and Viacom International Inc. In 1998, the plaintiffs conceived of an idea for a TV series called 'Bruckner Expressway' built around actual crank calls made by animated characters that lived in a tenement-style building in a stylized urban setting. The concept was pitched to Debbie Liebling, a development executive at Comedy Central and her colleague Dave Serwetka. In 1999, the plaintiffs met with Eileen Katz, Comedy Central's head of programming and another executive named Kent Alterman in New York. The defendants subsequently hired Jackhole Industries, and comedians Adam Corolla, Jimmy Kimmel and Daniel Kellison, who had worked for defendants in the past, disclosed the idea for 'Bruckner Expressway' to them and allowed them to develop a show based on it, first aired as 'Crank Yankers' in June, 2002. The show is highly successful and Corolla, Kimmel and Kellison get 'created by' and executive producer credits.

RELIEF SOUGHT: At least $1 million.

PLAINTIFFS' COUNSEL: Glen Kulik and Brigit Connelly of Sherman Oaks, CA's Kulik, Gottesman & Mouton.

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CASE CAPTION: John Doe v. Snoop Dogg (p/k/a Calvin Broadus), Priority Records LLC, Capitol Records and Doggy Style Records; L.A. Superior Court # BC292790.

CAUSES OF ACTION: Common law appropriation of voice and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

COMPLAINT ALLEGATIONS: Plaintiff left a message on rapper Snoop Dogg's answering machine. The message was allegedly used on the track 'Pimp Slapp'd' on the 'Paid the Cost to be Tha Boss' album without the plaintiff's permission and, as a result, the plaintiff now fears for his life and that of his elderly mother because it appears that he, as a Compton, CA, resident (where a rival of Broadus and Suge Knight apparently has a lot of 'pull' and is feared), is supporting Broadus in the gang turf war.

PLAINTIFF'S COUNSEL: Neville L. Johnson, Brian A. Rishwain, James T. Ryan of Johnson & Rishwain.

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CASE CAPTION: Howard Stern and Howard Stern Productions Inc. v. Telepictures Productions Inc., Next Entertainment Inc., American Broadcasting Cos. Inc., Mike Fleiss and Scott Einziger; L. A. Superior Court # BC292018.

CAUSES OF ACTION: Unfair business practices; unfair competition; breach of fiduciary duties; misappropriation of trade secrets; interference with prospective economic advantage; unjust enrichment; and imposition of a constructive trust.

COMPLAINT ALLEGATIONS: Stern has developed a segment on his radio show called 'The Evaluators' in which celebrity guests and his crew serve as judges to assess the physical attributes of a contestant and provide their opinions as to whether the contestant is 'hot enough' to be a playmate in Playboy or some other magazine. This segment has been developed over many years to the point that it and some of its unique elements have become widely associated with the Stern show. The ABC series 'Are You Hot? The Search for America's Sexiest People' is 'a blatant rip-off of The Evaluators.' The defendants even hired Scott Einziger, a former executive producer of Stern's E! Entertainment Television show, to produce the series, and Stern's former head writer, Jackie Martling, to be a writer for the series. Similarities between the two programs include sometimes using a laser pointer on contestants' bodies, using a 10-point rating system and interviewing contestants backstage.

RELIEF SOUGHT: $10 million, plus unspecified punitive damages.

PLAINTIFFS' COUNSEL: Martin D. Singer, Lynda B. Goldman and Michael D. Holtz of Los Angeles' Lavely & Singer.

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CASE CAPTION: Kinetic Kollections Overseas Inc. and Stewart Copeland v. Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and The Doors Touring Inc.; L. A. Superior Court # BC291738.

CAUSES OF ACTION: Breach of oral contract.

COMPLAINT ALLEGATIONS: Former Police drummer Stewart Copeland alleges that two members of The Doors reneged on a promise to pay him 20% of the revenue from a tour and album recorded by a new group they formed called The Doors 21st Century. Manzarek and Krieger solicited Copeland to play in the band. But 'after exploiting the credibility, talent and reputation of plaintiff Copeland to launch and generate heat for the tour and album, and once the success of The Doors 21st Century was assured, defendants breached their oral agreement.' The Doors hired a replacement drummer and kept Copeland's 20%.

PLAINTIFFS' COUNSEL: Henry Gradstein and Bruce E. Valsem of Los Angeles' Gradstein, Luskin & Van Dalsem.

CASE CAPTION: Kittie Inc., Mercedes Sherida Lander, Morgan Lee Lander and Garth Richardson v. Sheridan Square Entertainment LLC d/b/a Artemis Records; U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York # 03-21-2195.

CAUSES OF ACTION: Various breaches of contract, including the contractual duty of good faith and fair dealing.

COMPLAINT ALLEGATIONS: Kittie is a young female rock band from Ontario, Canada, whose debut album Spit was released on the Artemis label ' with which Kittie signed an exclusive recording agreement ' to critical acclaim and was certified gold. The band followed up this success with the release of three additional records and a video for Artemis. The Landers are members of Kittie. Richardson is the band's producer. Kittie retained the accounting firm of McGladrey & Pullen LLP to conduct an audit on of the record company's accounting books from June 1999 through June 2002. During the examination, McGladrey & Pullen uncovered numerous accounting discrepancies and an underpayment to the plaintiffs of more than $900,000 in royalties owed and breaches of the recording agreement by Artemis. These included use of an improper base price in calculating royalties, improper foreign royalty rate reductions, overcharges with respect to video production costs, miscalculations regarding free goods, excess reserves, double recoupment of producer and mixer advances, improper expense charges and foreign taxes improperly withheld.

RELIEF SOUGHT: Damages in the amount of all royalties, plus interest, less any applicable recoupments.

PLAINTIFFS' COUNSEL: Charles Joseph of New York's Joseph & Herzfeld.

* * *

CASE CAPTION: Stuart Sender and Todd Godwin v. Comedy Partners, a joint venture dba Comedy Central; L. A. Superior Court # BC292987.

CAUSES OF ACTION: Breach of implied-in-fact contract and breach of confidence.

COMPLAINT ALLEGATIONS: Sender is an Academy-Award nominated writer and producer. Godwin is an award-winning advertising creative director. Comedy Partners is a joint venture of Time Warner Entertainment Co. LP and Viacom International Inc. In 1998, the plaintiffs conceived of an idea for a TV series called 'Bruckner Expressway' built around actual crank calls made by animated characters that lived in a tenement-style building in a stylized urban setting. The concept was pitched to Debbie Liebling, a development executive at Comedy Central and her colleague Dave Serwetka. In 1999, the plaintiffs met with Eileen Katz, Comedy Central's head of programming and another executive named Kent Alterman in New York. The defendants subsequently hired Jackhole Industries, and comedians Adam Corolla, Jimmy Kimmel and Daniel Kellison, who had worked for defendants in the past, disclosed the idea for 'Bruckner Expressway' to them and allowed them to develop a show based on it, first aired as 'Crank Yankers' in June, 2002. The show is highly successful and Corolla, Kimmel and Kellison get 'created by' and executive producer credits.

RELIEF SOUGHT: At least $1 million.

PLAINTIFFS' COUNSEL: Glen Kulik and Brigit Connelly of Sherman Oaks, CA's Kulik, Gottesman & Mouton.

* * *

CASE CAPTION: John Doe v. Snoop Dogg (p/k/a Calvin Broadus), Priority Records LLC, Capitol Records and Doggy Style Records; L.A. Superior Court # BC292790.

CAUSES OF ACTION: Common law appropriation of voice and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

COMPLAINT ALLEGATIONS: Plaintiff left a message on rapper Snoop Dogg's answering machine. The message was allegedly used on the track 'Pimp Slapp'd' on the 'Paid the Cost to be Tha Boss' album without the plaintiff's permission and, as a result, the plaintiff now fears for his life and that of his elderly mother because it appears that he, as a Compton, CA, resident (where a rival of Broadus and Suge Knight apparently has a lot of 'pull' and is feared), is supporting Broadus in the gang turf war.

PLAINTIFF'S COUNSEL: Neville L. Johnson, Brian A. Rishwain, James T. Ryan of Johnson & Rishwain.

* * *

CASE CAPTION: Howard Stern and Howard Stern Productions Inc. v. Telepictures Productions Inc., Next Entertainment Inc., American Broadcasting Cos. Inc., Mike Fleiss and Scott Einziger; L. A. Superior Court # BC292018.

CAUSES OF ACTION: Unfair business practices; unfair competition; breach of fiduciary duties; misappropriation of trade secrets; interference with prospective economic advantage; unjust enrichment; and imposition of a constructive trust.

COMPLAINT ALLEGATIONS: Stern has developed a segment on his radio show called 'The Evaluators' in which celebrity guests and his crew serve as judges to assess the physical attributes of a contestant and provide their opinions as to whether the contestant is 'hot enough' to be a playmate in Playboy or some other magazine. This segment has been developed over many years to the point that it and some of its unique elements have become widely associated with the Stern show. The ABC series 'Are You Hot? The Search for America's Sexiest People' is 'a blatant rip-off of The Evaluators.' The defendants even hired Scott Einziger, a former executive producer of Stern's E! Entertainment Television show, to produce the series, and Stern's former head writer, Jackie Martling, to be a writer for the series. Similarities between the two programs include sometimes using a laser pointer on contestants' bodies, using a 10-point rating system and interviewing contestants backstage.

RELIEF SOUGHT: $10 million, plus unspecified punitive damages.

PLAINTIFFS' COUNSEL: Martin D. Singer, Lynda B. Goldman and Michael D. Holtz of Los Angeles' Lavely & Singer.

* * *

CASE CAPTION: Kinetic Kollections Overseas Inc. and Stewart Copeland v. Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and The Doors Touring Inc.; L. A. Superior Court # BC291738.

CAUSES OF ACTION: Breach of oral contract.

COMPLAINT ALLEGATIONS: Former Police drummer Stewart Copeland alleges that two members of The Doors reneged on a promise to pay him 20% of the revenue from a tour and album recorded by a new group they formed called The Doors 21st Century. Manzarek and Krieger solicited Copeland to play in the band. But 'after exploiting the credibility, talent and reputation of plaintiff Copeland to launch and generate heat for the tour and album, and once the success of The Doors 21st Century was assured, defendants breached their oral agreement.' The Doors hired a replacement drummer and kept Copeland's 20%.

PLAINTIFFS' COUNSEL: Henry Gradstein and Bruce E. Valsem of Los Angeles' Gradstein, Luskin & Van Dalsem.