Hollywood Docket: Did the Coreys Make a 'Secret Side Deal' for Reality Show?

Posted by Matthew Heller

Case: Pullano v. Haim, Case No. BC393051 (Los Angeles Superior Ct.), filed June 20

Claims: Breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, unfair competition, fraud, interference with economic advantage

Allegations: Plaintiffs are successful writers and producers of reality TV programming who "created an original concept and idea" for a show about the relationship between '80s teen idols Corey Haim and Corey Feldman. After entering into an agreement with Haim, they pitched the idea to ABC Television development executive Greg Goldman. ABC declined to buy "The Coreys" but the Coreys, Goldman and other defendants including reality producers RDF "agreed to a secret side deal" that excluded Plaintiffs, ignored their rights and resulted in the purchase of the show by A&E Television Network.

Filing attorney: Douglas Johnson, Johnson & Johnson, Beverly Hills

Case: Arista Records v. Myxer Inc., Case No. 08-cv-3935 (USDC, C. Calif.), filed June 16

Claims: Copyright infringement

Allegations: Without obtaining the permission of record companies, Myxer has made sound recordings available as ringtones to mobile phone users and has facilitated its users' infringement of plaintiffs' copyrights. "Myxer is building its internet business ... by seeking to usurp the important ringtone licensing market for itself, though it owns none of the creative content of Plaintiffs' sound recordings, and has incurred none of the costs required to create such content."

Filing attorney: Jeffrey Goldman, Loeb & Loeb, Los Angeles

To view the complaint, click here.