‘Spinal Tap’ Fraud Suit Balloons to $400 Million Claim; Christopher Guest, Rob Reiner, Michael McKean Sign On
Stars of 1984 mockumentary claim an array of financial misdeeds
Tim Kenneally | February 8, 2017 @ 10:25 AM
Last Updated: February 8, 2017 @ 10:32 AM
The guys from Spinal Tap are getting the old band back together — to sue the pants off of Vivendi.
“This Is Spinal Tap” stars Christopher Guest, Rob Reiner and Michael McKean have joined their cohort Harry Shearer in his lawsuit against Vivendi — and they’re asking for a bundle.
The First Amended Complaint filed in federal court in California on Tuesday says that Shearer and crew are “seeking not less than $400 million in compensatory and punitive damages.”
Shearer, who played Spinal Tap bassist Derek Smalls in the 1984 mockumentary, initially filed his lawsuit in October, asking for at least $125 million. Shearer claims that Vivendi, which eventually ended up with rights relating to the film, has engaged in “anti-competitive and unfair business practices,” and “willfully concealed and manipulated years of accountings to retain monies due and owing to plaintiff.”
The amended complaint claims that, “according to Vivendi, the four creators’ share of total worldwide merchandising income between 1984 and 2013 was $81.” Yes, just $81. Between 1989 and 2006 total income from music sales was just $98, the plaintiff also claimed. “Over the past three years, Vivendi has failed to provide accounting statements at all,” the complaint read.
Among the alleged financial chicanery: Failure to provide accounting statements; improper business expenses; failure to account for a $1.6 million settlement received from MGM Home Video over underreported home sales revenues; undocumented marketing and promotion expenses “allegedly incurred years after the release totaling over $2.5 million”; and failure to collect merchandising revenues.
The First Amended Complaint claims that “the suit as already been successful in inspiring other artists to speak out for fairness in the film, music and merchandising industries.”
Like Shearer’s initial complaint, the amended filing alleges fraud, breach of contract and other counts.
Vivendi had no comment on Shearer’s lawsuit when contacted upon the initial filing.
Pamela Chelin contributed to his report.
Hollywood's Most Outrageous Lawsuits (Photos)
Between Lindsay Lohan firing back at Fox News, Mariah Carey allegedly short changing her domestic help, and Sly Stone winning millions after suing his ex-manager -- stars often turn to the courts to address their squabbles and strife.
Lindsay Lohan filed suit against Fox News and Sean Hannity on Feb. 2, 2015, after a news correspondent accused Lohan's mom of snorting cocaine with her troubled daughter. It didn't take long for Fox to fire back. “We will defend this case to the fullest,” the network told TheWrap the next day.
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A former nanny for Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon filed a lawsuit on Jan. 28, 2015, alleging she was fired after showing the couple's kids too much affection and did not receive overtime pay despite working 100 hours per week.
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Legendary funk artist Sly Stone won $5 million on Jan. 27, 2015, after suing his former manager and entertainment attorney for misappropriating royalties owed him for more than 20 years.
Former “Real Housewives of Orange County” executive producers Patrick Moses and Kevin Kaufman filed a suit against Bravo in Nov. 2014, claiming they were deceitfully ousted from the show and bilked out of millions of dollars after helping to create the show and the franchise.
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Jessie Nizewitz, a contestant on VH1’s “Dating Naked,” filed suit in New York in Aug. 2014, seeking $10 million in damages for emotional distress, humiliation and embarrassment after the show allegedly failed to properly blur her genitals.
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Octavia Spencer was awarded $940,000 in Dec. 2014 after claiming a weight loss company, Sensa Products Inc., wrongfully fired her from an endorsement deal and still owed her money.
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Former Tinder executive Whitney Wolfe filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against her former company June 2014, alleging she was repeatedly called a "whore" by CMO Justin Mateen and was stripped of her co-founder title simply for being a woman.
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Former TMZ producer Jarrett Gaeta slapped his former employer with a lawsuit in June 2014, claiming he was wrongly terminated. Gaeta was let go after a subordinate accused him of "racist behavior," including defending blackface and sending pictures of watermelons to African-American employees.
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CNN America was sued in Aug. 2014 by a pair of plaintiffs who claim that correspondent Arwa Damon bit one of them and threatened both during a drunken altercation at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
"Boardwalk Empire" actress Paz de la Huerta sued Lionsgate in Aug. 2014 claiming she was run over by an ambulance while filming "Nurse 3D." Lionsgate filed a motion to dismiss, which De La Huerta opposed on Jan. 23, 2015. Lionsgate then opposed her opposition on Jan. 30, 2015, in a seemingly neverending loop of opposing motions.
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Rapper Rakim Mayers, aka A$AP Rocky, was sued in civil court in June 2014 for allegedly assaulting a woman while making his way through a crowd during the 2013 Made in America Festival.
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Nicki Minaj’s former hairstylist and wig designer filed a $30 million lawsuit against the rapper in 2014 for allegedly stealing his wig designs and costing him a potential reality show. A judge later dismissed the case for lack of sufficient evidence.
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West filed suit against YouTube founder Chad Hurley on Oct. 31, 2013, claiming he posted a video of the couple’s surprise engagement to his website without permission. The process was delayed when Hurley’s reps filed an anti-SLAPP motion in an attempt to have the case dismissed.
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Jahmel Binion filed a lawsuit against Shaquille O’Neal in July 2014 when O’Neal posted a photo to his Instagram account mocking Binion, who suffers from a rare condition that causes facial abnormalities, sparse hair and missing teeth. Binion claimed defamation, emotional distress and invasion of privacy in the $25,000 lawsuit, and after pressure from the public O’Neal apologized.
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In 2014 singer Chris Brown was mentioned in a lawsuit filed by the cousin of artist Frank Ocean. The defendant claimed Brown and an associate allegedly kicked and punched him when he confronted them about parking in a spot designated for Ocean at a Los Angeles recording studio. Ocean, who was also injured, later said he wouldn't seek criminal or civil penalties.
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From embezzlement to slander, there’s no shortage of celebrity court action
Between Lindsay Lohan firing back at Fox News, Mariah Carey allegedly short changing her domestic help, and Sly Stone winning millions after suing his ex-manager -- stars often turn to the courts to address their squabbles and strife.