2010 TV News Archives

December 15, 2010: No Joy for "Smallville" Creators in Court

Smallville There's been a development in the "other" Superman related legal battle this week, with writers and producers of "Smallville" losing a crucial battle in their lawsuit against Warner Bros. over tens of millions of dollars in revenue generated by the CW's hit TV series.

    Los Angeles judge Michael Johnson on Monday granted a motion to dismiss key claims against the studio, ruling that the studio does not owe a fiduciary duty to series co-creators Miles Millar and Alfred Gough and production company Tollin/Robbins Prods. While the case for breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing will continue, knocking out the fiduciary duty claim is a victory for the studio because such claims can give rise to significantly higher damages in profit participation cases.

    The "Smallville" creative team last March filed a breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court against Time Warner and its divisions -- WBTV, Warner Bros. Domestic TV Distribution, the now-defunct WB network, where the show started -- and the CW, a co-venture with CBS. The suit alleged that WBTV made sweetheart license fee deals with corporate siblings the WB and the CW that "were not arms-length," shortchanging the writers and producers by tens of millions of dollars.

Read the full report at Reuters.com.



2010 Television News

Listed below are all the Television News items archived for 2010 organized into various categories:

“Smallville” News:

“Young Justice” Animated Series News: Other Superman Related Television News:

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