[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Sarah Wrightson writes:
> >Hell, if you are going to talk about the Beach Boys I can ask another
> >dumb question...also on CNN (guess what I watch while eating lunch)
> >one of the news lines at the bottom said that Michael Nesmith of the
> >Monkeys had been awarded 47Million (well it may have been thousand,
> >the eyes are going) from PBS for fraud?
> >
> >What did they do to the guy?
>
> He lost big at that 3 card monty table that PBS has set up in Grand
> Central Station.
> But seriously.... I only heard a bit of it, but I think it had
> something to do with unpaid royalties from shows that his production
> company, Pacific Arts, produced for PBS. It's ironic, considering that
> Nesmith himself was on the receiving end of a lawsuit by PBS and
> filmmaker Ken Burns a few years back for something similar.
Sorry, I clipped this earlier but got busy. Actually working today...<g>
> Former Monkee wins $46 million in suit against PBS
>
> By Dan Whitcomb
>
> LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Nesmith, a former star of ''The Monkees'' TV series
>and pop group, has won $46 million
> in damages in a lawsuit against the Public Broadcasting Service over the rights to a
>videotape library of PBS programs.
>
> In a verdict reached late Monday and announced Tuesday by Nesmith's lawyer, a
>federal court jury unanimously found PBS
> liable for breach of contract and fraud. PBS said it would fight the verdict.
>
> Nesmith alleged in his lawsuit that PBS promised in 1993 to help save his Pacific
>Arts distribution business. Pacific Arts was
> deeply in debt after establishing the ``Silver Top'' PBS Home Video Library, which
>distributed such programs as ''Masterpiece
> Theatre'' and Ken Burns' ``Civil War'' documentary series.
>
> Nesmith alleged that the network persuaded producers of those programs to terminate
>their distribution contracts with Pacific
> Arts and sign them over to PBS. The network then found new distributors for the Home
>Video Library and built a $27 million
> business around them, he alleged.
>
> ``It's like finding your grandmother stealing your stereo,'' Nesmith said. ``You're
>happy to get your stereo back, but it's sad to
> find out your grandmother is a thief.''
>
> Nesmith added: ``They lied to me, they cheated me, they made an attempt to get the
>catalogue dishonestly. They were unethical
> and duplicitous.''
>
> Stu Kantor, director of corporate communications for PBS, said the network disagreed
>with the verdict and would fight it in
> court.
>
> ``PBS believes that the facts and the law in the case merited a verdict in its
>favor,'' Kantor said. ``PBS will vigorously contest
> the verdict.''
>
> Asked if PBS would appeal the verdict, Kantor said: ``We will take every option,
>including filing motions to set aside the
> verdict.''
>
> The jury awarded Nesmith's Pacific Arts distribution company $14.6 million in
>compensatory damages and $29.2 million in
> punitive damages. Nesmith personally won $1 million in compensatory damages and $2
>million in punitive damages
>
> Nesmith, 56, whose mother invented Liquid Paper correction fluid, became famous in
>the 1960s as a member of the Monkees,
> a made-for-television pop foursome who starred in a TV series and the big-screen
>film ``Head,'' which also featured Jack
> Nicholson.
>
> The Monkees, who included Mickey Dolenz, Davy Jones and Peter Tork, also staged
>concert tours.
>
