Is Judge Judy’s $45 million annual salary too much?
That’s the contention of a talent agency in a court battle alleging the TV star’s salary is so great that the talent agency hasn’t reaped any recent payments despite her program taking in $1.7 billion since 1996.
A non-celebrity, non-TV judge Tuesday took under submission a motion by CBS and Big Ticket Television Inc. to dismiss most of the claims in the lawsuit brought by the talent agency against the network, in which the plaintiffs allege they have not received contractually obligated payments for “Judge Judy” for years because of show host Judy Sheindlin’s $45 million salary.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joanne O’Donnell did not say when she would issue a ruling on the fate of the case filed in March 2016 by Rebel Entertainment Partners Inc., which alleges it stopped receiving regular payments in 2010 although the show has grossed $1.7 billion since the 1996 premiere.
The lawsuit states that Sheindlin’s contract with CBS was renewed in 2013 and then extended in 2015, and that her salary is “grossly inconsistent with customary practice in the television industry.” Sheindlin is not a defendant in the case.
The lawsuit also alleges that CBS was required to discuss with Rebel any “Judge Judy” spinoffs, but did not do so before the launch of her other syndicated show, “Hot Bench.”
Plaintiffs’ attorney Bryan Freedman said CPA Sabrina Robinson examined documents in the case and found that the closest salary to Sheindlin’s $45 million belongs to another syndicated show personality who makes $28 million. He said a jury should be allowed to decide the issues in the case.
In a sworn declaration, Robinson says she believes CBS “failed to follow their obligation to act in good faith and deal fairly with Rebel by increasing Judge Sheindlin’s salary to $45 million and deducting it as a cost of production, such that Rebel will never realize a profit participation again.”
But in their dismissal motion, CBS attorneys say Rebel’s claims for breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing should be dismissed because “Hot Bench” is not a spinoff of “Judge Judy.” The defense lawyers also maintain that the parties’ agreement allows the network to deduct Sheindlin’s salary as a production cost.
——–
JUDGE JUDY MAKES $45 MILLION! OUTRAGED TALENT AGENCY FIGHTS IN NON-TV COURT was last modified: April 3rd, 2018 by Contributing Editor
