Courthouse Steps

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

COMPLAINT ALLEGATIONS: The plaintiffs are film and TV writers. In Nov. 2000, they came up with an idea for a TV series entitled 'Village of the Damned' that they later renamed 'Chosen Ones.' The plaintiffs prepared an introductory bible for the series and pitched it to the defendant. In June 2001, the plaintiffs were told that that the defendant's president, Bonne Hammer, had approved a series based on the bible and had forwarded it to Barry Diller, chairman of USA. In Aug. 2001, the plaintiffs were told that Diller had passed on the project. In Feb. 2002, the plaintiffs slightly revised the project, gave it a new name and resubmitted it. The defendant company passed again. During this time, an entity known as Trilogy Entertainment Group expressed strong interest in working with the plaintiffs as producing partners. There were extensive discussions with Mark Stern of Trilogy; he attended pitch meetings and was attached as a potential co-producer. In Dec. 2002, Stern left Trilogy and became Senior Vice President of Original Programming for USA. In 2003, the defendant company began developing a series called 'The 4400' that was substantially similar to the plaintiffs' project.