‘McDreamy’ Bests Starbucks in Steamy Auction for Seattle Coffee Chain

Federal Bankruptcy Judge Karen Overstreet in Seattle approved the Chapter 11 sale of Seattle chain Tully’s Coffee for $9.15 million to ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ star Patrick Dempsey. Dempsey successfully out-bid other interested buyers for the chain, including Starbucks.

Starbucks wanted half of Tully’s 47 shops in Washington and California to rebrand as their own, while Philippians-based AgriNuture Inc. sought the rest of Tully’s assets. Together, their bid was worth $10.6 million, more than 13% higher than Dempsey’s bid.

Despite Starbucks’ contentions over the “confusing and non-conclusive,” …

January 15, 2013 Copyright / TV

Khroma Kroma Kardashian: Makeup Artist Claims Perceived Endorsement by Reality Stars Devalues her Cosmetics

Lee Tillett, an Altamonte Springs makeup artist in Florida, is suing the Kardashian sisters — Kim, Kourtney and Khloe — and Boldface Group Inc. for $10 million in trademark infringement counterclaims, alleging they stole the name of her cosmetics line. Tillett filed her lawsuit on Wednesday in federal court in Los Angeles.

Tillett filed a claim last year for copyright infringement, but Boldface sought a declaratory judgment in November to use the Khroma name despite Tillett’s trademark to the name Kroma. Tillett’s counterclaim was filed …

December 13, 2012 TV

Former Agent Sues for Cut of ‘Pawn Stars’ Profits

Talent Agency, Venture IAB Inc., filed suit against A&E Television Networks LLC, claiming they signed on to represent the cast of The History Channel’s hit reality show “Pawn Stars” back in 2007, but were wrongfully terminated soon after the show aired in 2009.

The main issue at hand involves the representation agreements between Venture IAB and The Harrison Family (Corey Harrison, Rick Harrison, Richard Harrison) and Austin “Chumlee” Russell, who operate the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas. Venture IAB claims …

December 13, 2012 TV

Yuuuup! ‘Storage Wars’ Ex-Cast Member Claims Show is Staged

David Hester, former star of A&E’s hit reality show “Storage Wars,” filed a wrongful discharge claim in violation of public policy against the network and production company on Tuesday. Hester asserts that he was terminated in retaliation for voicing his opinion in regards to the reality show’s allegedly staged and fraudulent practices in rigging the contents of the storage units up for auction.

“Storage Wars” follows buyers who bid for abandoned storage lockers hoping to find valuables that they can sell for a profit. The …

November 9, 2012 TV

Pageant Mom Reigns Supreme with Settlement in Suit Against Tabloids

On November 6, 2012, the mother of Isabella Barrett (a child who appeared on TLC’s child beauty pageant television show ‘Toddlers & Tiaras’) settled a libel lawsuit filed against TMZ and the Daily Mall, two media outlets who allegedly “sexualized” the child’s performance at a January charity event in several news articles. The complaint, which originally sought $10 million from each of the defendants, accused the media outlets of portraying Isabelle in a manner that was “perceived sexually, erotically and pornographically by the readership of …

October 16, 2012 TV

Court Rules ‘Bachelor’/’Bachelorette” Casting Directors Free to Give Roses to Applicants of Their Choosing

A Tennessee federal judge dismissed a race bias class action against ABC Inc. and the producer of “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette,” determining that the show’s casting decisions are “part and parcel of the creative process behind a television program” and therefore protected by the First Amendment.

Individuals Nathaniel Claybrooks and Christopher Johnson filed the suit in April, alleging that ABC intentionally excluded minorities from the hit reality series, thereby perpetuating “outdated racial taboos.” Although “Bachelor” and “Bachelorette” have aired for a combined total of …

September 18, 2012 Copyright / TV

Writers Call Foul on FX Over ‘The League’

Writers Joseph Balsamo and Peter Ciancarelli filed a copyright infringement suit in the U.S. District Court in New York against cable network FX, accusing the network of using their idea for a television show as the basis for its popular program “The League.” “The League” premiered in October 2009, and the fourth season is scheduled to air next month.

According to the writers, they filed a television treatment titled “The Commissioner” with the Writers Guild of America in December 2006. The treatment was also posted …

September 14, 2012 TV

‘Pink Slime’ Manufacturer Fights Back at ABC with Defamation Suit

A manufacturer of beef trimmings launched a $1.2 billion defamation suit against the American Broadcasting Company, ABC reporters Jim Avila and David Kerly, Diane Sawyer and several others in the Circuit Court of South Dakota, First Judicial Circuit on September 13, 2012.

In its complaint, the manufacturer, Beef Products, Inc., alleges that ABC’s multi-part documentary attacked BPI’s lean finely textured beef product (the substance less affectionately dubbed “pink slime” by critics in the documentary) causing it to incur a loss of business since the series …

August 27, 2012 TV

California Appellate Court Friendly Venue for Suit Against Kudrow

The Second District Court of Appeal in California has revived a suit against “Friends” star Lisa Kudrow by her ex-manager, Scott Howard, stating that Howard’s expert witness testimony was improperly rejected by the lower courts. Howard brought suit against Kudrow in 2008, alleging that the actress had violated the terms of an oral contract when she declined to pay him a percentage of her earnings. Howard represented Kudrow from 1991 until his termination in 2007 and played a part in getting her the lucrative role …

July 9, 2012 TV

Cold Hearted Snake: Former American Idol Contestant Files Libel Suit Against MTV and Viacom

Former American Idol contestant Corey Clark filed a libel lawsuit on Thursday, July 6 in the Middle District of Tennessee against MTV Networks Enterprises Inc. and its parent company Viacom International Inc., claiming that he was repeatedly defamed by an MTV news reporter.

Clark was a contestant on season two of the popular televised singing competition American Idol. He was disqualified in 2003 after Idol officials learned that Clark had failed to disclose that he had been arrested in Topeka, Kansas, and that he …