Travicity
03-10-2011, 10:57 PM
UPDATE: Warner Bros and Chuck Lorre don't want to comment. But TMZ has today's legal documents first. Charlie Sheen is not only demanding he get paid for the 8 scrapped Two And A Half Men episodes, he's also suing on behalf of the cast and crew for $100,000,000 plus punitive damages. Hollywood wasn't sure if the actor's firing would amp up from Sheen's incoherent ramblings and Chuck Lorre's vanity cards to an actual court battle, especially because Sheen's litigator Marty Singer is more known for writing letters than filing lawsuits. But this morning that all changed. Singer is claiming that Warner Bros and Lorre were wrong to pink slip Charlie when he was sick, and that's a violation of state and federal law. But the attorney really turns the screws on the Two And A Half Men executive producer and studio with some juicy trash talk alleging a conspiracy. "Chuck Lorre, one of the richest men in television who is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, believes himself to be so wealthy and powerful that he can unilaterally decide to take money away from the dedicated cast and crew of the popular television series, in order to serve his own ego and self-interest, and make the star of the Series the scapegoat for Lorre's own conduct." Singer claims Warner Bros was "capitulating to Lorre's egotistical desire to punish Mr. Sheen..." and makes the point that the studio renegotiated Sheen's contract (and gave him a raise) even when the actor was facing felony charges in Aspen so his recent behavior is hardly grounds for firing. But you've got to admire Team Charlie's chutzpah suing on behalf of the cast and crew based on what's called in legal parlance a "private attorney general's statute". (When we all know they're just pathetic pawns in this Big Boy Squabble...) Let's see if they file their own lawsuit. Meanwhile, even though Sheen's recent rants also have been directed at CBS boss Les Moonves, he's not included as a plaintiff. According to the legal documents, there's a case management conference scheduled for June 28th.
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