Ed McMahon is having the Worst. Year. Ever. Now people are reaching out from beyond the grave to sue him.
The ex-Tonight Show announcer and Star Search host, who is being sued by many people and also almost lost his home a month or so ago, is now being sued by Merv Griffin's company for $100,000. McMahon was having money problems back in 2005 and borrowed the money from Merv. The loan was supposed to be paid back starting last month but McMahon didn't make his first payment, so The Griffin Group, Inc. has filed suit against him. Griffin died last year.
Book? What book? That would seem to be the bone of contention, if you will. Ben Karlin, former headwriter for The Daily Show, has filed a lawsuit against TV chef Mario Batali and actress Gwyneth Paltrow claiming they did not pay him for work he did for a book on which they were collaborating. Karlin, who shared authorship of America (The Book) with Jon Stewart, says he was assigned to "conceptualize and oversee" a book to compliment a PBS series starring Mario and Gwyneth in which the stars take a cultural and gastronomic tour of Spain. The series, which may be called Spain...on the Road Again, will premiere this fall.
You didn't think the legal battles between DISH and TiVo were actually over, did you? TiVo may have won the last round, which means that the PVR technology DISH had been offering customers infringed on TiVo patents. But TiVo officials have also apparently been going around making claims that DISH's new software also infringes on TiVo patents.
Rather than wait for TiVo to file another suit, DISH has taken its own legal action by asking a court to rule that the company's new software does not violate TiVo's patent. On the one hand, this obviously shows that the company is confident its new software will stand up against any challenges. On the other hand, DISH PVR users won't have peace of mind until this whole court battle is finally worked out. Any day now, a court could order DISH to just shut off the PVR functions of DISH set top boxes. So it'd be nice if the whole thing were just over with.
As A&E's Dog the Bounty Hunter begins filming it's fifth season, Boris Krutonug sues the network for royalties, salary and other compensation for season four. The actor who appeared in The Hunt for Red October and Air Force One filed papers in Manhattan at the state Supreme Court and said he's the shows creator and co-executive producer. Furthermore, he wants $5 million in damages. Krutonug says that David Hout and his companies Hybrid Films and D&D Television Productions breached contract with him.
Apparently, in 1995, Krutonug introduced himself to Dog and, believing Dog's life and work would make a great film or TV show, signed papers for exclusive rights. According to the court papers, Krutonog developed the show between 1995 and 2003. And to get permission to produce and air the show, A&E agreed to pay Boris Krutonog as a co-executive producer for the duration of the program. Dan Silberman, the spokesperson for the network, said he could not comment at this time.
After a New York court dismissed most of the claims in Dan Rather's $70 million lawsuit against his former employer, CBS, he was told he could resubmit the suit. So Rather, never one to back down from a fight, did just that. He filed an amended suit that now claims that he met with other broadcast and cable networks, but didn't get offered jobs by them because, as the suit claims, he had "too much baggage" after the Bush / National Guard incident that eventually led to his departure from CBS.
CBS's lawyers are pretty confident that the suit will be dismissed a second time, but all Rather wants to do is get to the bottom of what happened with the story about the president's Guard record, which he still stands behind.
"I've never lost sight of the fact that this is a long, hard, expensive road and the odds are against," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "I knew that going in. I've known that every hour I've been in it. I'm in this alone. I bear the whole, total expense, which comes out of my pocket.
Posted Apr 24th 2008 1:03PM by Joel Keller Filed under: News
Jack Cafferty, aka CNN's Grumpy Old Man, has been known to spout off from time to time and go on rants, but they were nothing more harmful than the news equivalent of "damn kids and their rock music these days." But it looks like one of his ramblings ticked off a couple of people enough that they found some creative lawyers and sued the heck out of Cafferty and his bosses.
According to Reuters, a beautician and a Beijing-based primary schoolteacher are suing Cafferty and CNN $1.3 billion for, the article says, "violating the dignity and reputation of the Chinese people." The lawsuit is being filed in New York. According to one of the suit's lawyers,"The $1.3 billion averages out to $1 per Chinese person, so it isn't much." He apparently said that with a completely straight face.
Remember how DISH Network quickly responded to the latest (and possibly final) twist in the TiVo v. Echostar patent dispute by saying that customers would not be affected since all DISH set top boxes had received software upgrades? Yeah, that wasn't entirely true.
Now DISH is letting us know that there are actually a few boxes that not received the upgrade treatment. The four boxes in question are all on the older side and odds are you weren't going to get one installed when you signed up for DISH service anyway. But the company is letting installers know that the VIP 721, 921, 942 and Homezone 1022 models are to be pretty much taken out of service. If you've already got one of these in your house and service has already been activated, it sounds like you shouldn't be affected.
It looks like the long-running patent dispute between TiVo and Dish Network could finally be drawing to a close. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal District today denied a motion from Dish (formerly known as EchoStar) to rehear the case. TiVo released a statement saying that the company is "pleased," and that the "ruling brings us closer to resolution of Echostar's infringement."
What does that actually mean? Well, it could mean that Dish Network will have to shut off service to all of tis current generation digital video recorders until the company can develop a new version that does not rely on TiVo's patented technology. It also means Dish could wind up owing TiVo a fine of nearly $90 million.
It's not clear at the moment if TiVo will negotiate any sort of arrangement with Dish that will let Dish customers keep their PVRs. It's possible, but at this late point in the game, it's just as likely that TiVo will just gloat.
Update: Dish says it has already rolled out new technology that does not infringe on TiVo's patents, which means current customers should not be affected.
If you've been getting whiplash watching the legal battle between TiVo and EchoStar over PVR-related patents, you're not alone. The two companies have been duking it out for years now. Sometimes TiVo seems to be up while EchoStar is down, and sometimes the tables seem to flip.
The latest twist came today when the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a ruling that (mostly) favors TiVo. In a nutshell, a lower court had ruled that EchoStar was violating a series of hardware and software patents held by TiVo. The appelate court upheld that decision insofar as it relates to the software patents. But today's ruling reverses the decision regarding the hardware patents.
While that might seem like mixed news for EchoStar, the ruling upholds the damages issued by the district court, since the damages were not calculated claim by claim. If memory serves, those damages are about $88 million.
Believe it or not, I'm a little bit surprised by this news: According to The Smoking Gun (via AOL), Missy Chase Lapine has sued Jessica and Jerry Seinfeld over the flap concerning the similarities between her cookbook, The Sneaky Chef, and Mrs. Seinfeld's cookbook, Deceptively Delicious.
Jessica is accused of plagiarizing Lapine's book. But why is Jerry included in the suit? Because Lapine has decided that in the process of defending his wife in various TV appearances, Jerry defamed her by accusing her of being a "wacko" and a stalker. In fact, the suit specifically mentions Jerry's appearance on Letterman where the w-word was uttered.
Creating a story about a crime family wasn't enough. Now, David Chase is accused of being a criminal; he supposedly stole plotlines from a retired judge and used them on The Sopranos.
According to Chase's testimony, he offered the former judge, Robert Baer, compensation back in 1995 before the show hit the airwaves. Baer refused payment. Baer changed his mind around 2002 when he filed the lawsuit (coincidentally, the show was already a big hit). As an additional note, the lawsuit has already been dismissed twice and the dismissal was overturned each time.
Miley Cyrus, also known as Hannah Montana, has a very active fan club, much as other teen sensations have had over the years. The benefits for those in such a fan club usually include memorabilia, little fan goodies, the latest news about the star and, in this case, the fans believe they were promised easier access to Miley's concert appearances.
Yes, the fan club members believed they would have access to priority seating at the sold-out concerts of Miley, the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus. As Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel, her current fame eclipses any achy breaky heart past glories. She's the fourteen year-old whose fans are really fanatics in all meaning of the word.
Ed McMahon is having the Worst. Year. Ever. Now people are reaching out from beyond the grave to sue him.
Book? What book? That would seem to be the bone of contention, if you will. 
You didn't think the legal battles between DISH and TiVo 
As A&E's Dog the Bounty Hunter begins filming it's fifth season, 
Even if 
After a New York court dismissed most of the claims in 
Jack Cafferty, aka CNN's Grumpy Old Man, has been known to spout off from time to time and go on rants, but they were nothing more harmful than the news equivalent of "damn kids and their rock music these days." But it looks like one of his ramblings ticked off a couple of people enough that they found some creative lawyers and sued the heck out of Cafferty and his bosses.
This is a very odd story, and not because it involves one-half of TV's most enjoyable sitcoms ever, 
Believe it or not, I'm a little bit surprised by this news: According to 
Creating a story about a crime family wasn't enough. Now, 
Miley Cyrus, also known as Hannah Montana, has a very active fan club, much as other teen sensations have had over the years. The benefits for those in such a fan club usually include memorabilia, little fan goodies, the latest news about the star and, in this case, the fans believe they were promised easier access to Miley's concert appearances.
Giveaway Monday: How I Met Your Mother season three DVD
Oops! Newspapers around the world use SNL pic as official Palin one - VIDEO
The evolution of TV Squad
