May 1, 2008 9:20 am US/Mountain
Judge Tosses Out Lawsuit Against J.Lo
NEW YORK (AP) ―
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The lawsuit named Jennifer Lopez, UPN, CBS Television and others as defendants. (File)
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
A judge on Wednesday tossed out a lawsuit by a television writer who
claimed Jennifer Lopez had a hand in stealing his idea for a TV series.
Writer Jack Bunick claimed in a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in
Manhattan that the series "South Beach" that debuted in January 2006
was too similar to a plot he described in 1999 for a pilot episode of a
show that would have been called "South Beach Miami." The lawsuit named
Lopez, UPN, CBS Television and others as defendants.
The show, which has since been canceled, aired on UPN. The show was
described as being about best friends Matt and Vincent, who left their
lives in Brooklyn to move to South Beach in hope of finding a better
future.
U.S. District Judge Richard Berman said there's inadequate evidence
to take the case to trial. The judge also noted that Bunick admits his
scripts includes generic ideas and commonplace elements and aspects of
the South Beach, Miami club and modeling scene.
The judge said there was "in fact ... powerful evidence" that the defendants had independently created "South Beach."
A lawyer for Lopez had said in court papers that although she was
executive producer, Lopez was barely involved in the creation and
development of "South Beach" and was only brought in at a later stage
to "lend celebrity to the show."
A lawyer for Bunick did not immediately return a telephone message for comment.
(© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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