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Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail More Yahoo! Services Account Options New User? Sign Up Sign In Help Yahoo! Search web search Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Weekend Edition World Setback for Smallville creators in profits lawsuit Reuters - Wednesday, December 15 Send IM Story Print By Matthew Belloni LOS ANGELES - Writers and producers of "Smallville" have lost a round in their heated lawsuit against Warner Bros. over tens of millions of dollars in revenue generated by the CW's hit Superman 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. Warners, in fighting the suit, employed a common studio tactic in profit participation cases, arguing that it doesn't owe any fiduciary duties -- and thus couldn't have breached them -- because the profit-sharing relationship for writers and producers on a TV show doesn't amount to a partnership or joint venture , meaning there was no joint venture. Judge Johnson, in his Monday ruling, accepted Warners' theory, despite evidence showing the relationship was "akin" to a joint venture and that Tollin/Robbins' deal with WBTV was labeled a "venture agreement." Warners "bore all the risk associated with the show and plaintiffs enjoyed guaranteed compensation regardless of success or failure," Johnson writes. "That is not an agreement to share losses under California law." "This is an important development in the case," Warner Bros. lead attorney Scott Edelman said. "The plaintiffs tried to establish a joint venture and a fiduciary relationship where none existed. We look forward to trying the case on the merits and are gratified by the judge's ruling." The plaintiffs' lawyer Dale Kinsella said he plans to appeal the ruling. "We respect the judge's opinion but intend to pursue this matter further at the Court of Appeals," Kinsella says. "In any event, we look forward to trying the balance of the case to a jury of our clients' peers." Even if the ruling is upheld, the case is still worth potentially tens of millions of dollars. Recommend Send IM Story Print Related Articles Fiennes directorial debut, Wenders 3D pic at Berlin fest AFP - 24 minutes ago Women wrestling in the Bolivian Andes AFP - 31 minutes ago US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary Reuters - 2 hours 21 minutes ago Jessie J named Critics' Choice at BRIT awards Reuters - 2 hours 21 minutes ago Neil Diamond to join Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Reuters - Thursday, December 16 News Search Top Stories US consumer inflation in surprise slowdown Rating agency warns of Spain credit downgrade Scarlett Johansson, Ryan Reynolds call it quits Britain's jobless total hits 2.5 million Pharma giant Novartis buys remainder of Alcon More Top Stories » ADVERTISEMENT Most Popular Most Viewed Most Recommended Record profits forecast for airline industry Ho, ho, crunch: Santa's a crash risk, say doctors Bernard Madoff will not attend son's funeral: lawyer Dow reaches two year high as US stocks hold gains US retail sales start holidays with a bang More Most Viewed » NASA finds new form of life... on Earth Defiant Obama defends tax cuts, eyes 2012 More Most Recommended » Elsewhere on Yahoo! Financial news on Yahoo! Finance Stars and latest movies Best travel destinations More on Yahoo! News Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Weekend Edition Subscribe to our news feeds Top StoriesMy Yahoo!RSS » More news feeds | What are news feeds? Also on Yahoo! Answers Groups Mail Messenger Mobile Travel Finance Movies Sports Games » All Yahoo! Services Site Highlights Singapore Full Coverage Most Popular Entertainment Photos Yahoo! News Network Copyright © 2010 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Community | Intellectual Property Rights Policy | Help

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