Will and Jada Smith lawsuit seeks to head off film investor claim

By Matthew Belloni

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith are getting out in front of an upcoming lawsuit -- by filing their own suit for declaratory relief.

The Smiths and Overbrook Entertainment filed the dec relief claim today in Los Angeles Superior Court against Tycoon Entertainment and real estate mogul David Grasso over the film "Human Contract," which Pinkett Smith wrote and directed via her production company 100% Womon.

According to the complaint, the film didn't perform as planned (IMDb says it went direct-to-DVD) and Tycoon and Grasso are now playing the "blame game" (the complaint's words) because they likely won't recoup their unspecified investment despite allegedly being promised a fat return. 

"Plaintiffs, of course, made no such representations nor is it conceivable that an experienced, well-represented real estate mogul like Grasso would believe such promises," the complaint states.

The Smiths and Overbrook want a judge to declare that they have done nothing wrong and aren't liable for losses from the film.  

Here's the complaint, filed by Allen Grodsky at Santa Monica's Grodsky & Olecki.

A call to Tycoon wasn't returned.

UPDATE: David Grasso just called us to express his disappointment in being sued today. "I was so excited to be able to work with Will and Jada on this film, so excited to be able to provide the financing," he said. "In hindsight, I should have asked myself, why does Will Smith need this money?" Grasso says he invested $5 million of the $6 million-plus budget and recouped only $1 million on a foreign sales deal he negotiated himself. "It's an unfortunate situation but I’m sure we’ll work something out," he says.  

Comments

[mariah]

I don't know what Will Smith see's in Jada Pinkett - she's nasty with a huge chip on her bony shoulders.

[Daniella Isaacs]

I'll be Will knows JP better than you do, Mariah, and sees things you're bind to.