Update: FX, Kurt Sutter Win Chuck Zito's Lawsuit

[JamesG]

"Sons of Anarchy" Creator Blasts Lawsuit Claims
by Mike Moody
posted Jun 16th 2010


"Sons of Anarchy" creator Kurt Sutter has blasted an ex-biker's claim that the hit FX' drama was his idea.




According to the Hollywood Reporter, former Hells Angel Chuck Zito claims he developed and pitched a TV drama about a renegade motorcycle club to FX' in 2004 with the help of an ICM talent agent.

The network passed on the show and later began developing Sutter's "Sons of Anarchy" in 2006. ICM reportedly packaged and pitched Anarchy with Sutter to FX'.




Zito is seeking $5 million from the cable network.

His lawsuit purports that FX' was obligated to pay Zito the "reasonable value of his ideas, hire him to work on the series and afford him screen credit as creator."





Today, Sutter hit back at the claims ... hard.

He posted an expletive-filled response to Zito's lawsuit on his personal blog, expressing that having an "idea" for a show is not the same thing as "creating" it.


Here's an excerpt:

"HAVING THE F***ING IDEA IS NOT THE SHOW. THERE HAVE BEEN DOZENS OF OUTLAW MOTORCYCLE TV DRAMAS PITCHED IN THE LAST TEN YEARS. NONE OF THEM HAS MADE IT TO SERIES, EXCEPT 'SOA'. BECAUSE THEY SUCKED.

The same way there were dozens of mob family pitches before 'The Sopranos' and crime scene pitches before 'CSI'.

.... I had a love of the subculture but was not an "outlaw biker." The same way Damon Lindelof was never marooned on a supernatural island.

I did what a good writers does. Research."




The lawsuit was filed today in Los Angeles.

http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/06/16/ku...archy-lawsuit/

[JamesG]

FX, Kurt Sutter Win Lawsuit Claiming "Sons of Anarchy" Was Stolen (Exclusive)
12/15/2011
by Matthew Belloni


FX and "Sons of Anarchy" creator Kurt Sutter have prevailed in a lawsuit filed by an ex-Hell's Angel biker who claimed the idea for the hit drama series was stolen.



Chuck Zito sued FX for $5 million in June 2010 claiming he had developed a show called Nomads (later The Wild Angels) and had agents at ICM set up a pitch meeting in 2004 with FX chief John Landgraf, during which Zito says he discussed ideas for a show about a motorcycle club.

FX passed on the project but later developed Sutter's "Sons", which ICM packaged and recently concluded its 4th season as a big hit for the network.

"FX was obligated to pay Zito the reasonable value of his ideas, hire him to work on the series and afford him screen credit as creator," the lawsuit alleged. "Defendants breached an implied-in-fact contract with defendant."







Today a Los Angeles Superior Court judge agreed, ruling on summary judgment that "Sons" was independently created and Zito doesn't have a case.

The judge relied on declarations submitted by Sutter, Landgraf and talent agent Matt Solo (now with WME), among others, showing Sutter's development process and the fact that "Sons" was pitched to several networks, including HBO and AMC, before arriving at FX, which bought the project in a bidding war.

The judge saw no reason for the case to continue past the summary judgment phase.



We've reached out to Zito's attorneys for comment.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr...lawsuit-274294