[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.
