Clive Cussler Lawsuit Not Over Yet

Posted on January 8, 2008

The Clive Cussler lawsuit took a new twist today: a court ruled against Cussler by dismissing his motion to make Philip Anschutz's Crusader Entertainment pay him $8.5 million for for his second book, based on the jury verdict in the heated trial over the Dirk Pitt film Sahara.

On Friday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge John Shook denied a motion by Cussler to use a portion of the jury's May special verdict form as the basis for an $8.5 million judgment in Cussler's favor. The judge ruled the jury's answer was advisory and not a basis for a judgment.

In May, after more than three months of courtroom sparring and eight days of jury deliberations, an L.A. Superior Court jury awarded Crusader a total of $5 million in damages for past and future economic loss. But the jury's special verdict form also stated Crusader was obligated to pay Cussler about $8.5 million for the rights to the second of two Cussler books in the Dirk Pitt adventure series.

In a statement, Crusader attorney Marvin Putnam of O'Melveny & Myers said: "This court order and the jury verdict are an overwhelming -- and well-deserved -- victory for our client. The attempt to misconstrue the jury's findings into a claim that Cussler somehow was still entitled to the $8.5 million for a second book were rightly deemed absurd by the Court."

Fields, however, vigorously denied the case was over or that Crusader, now known as Bristol Bay Prods., had won. Fields acknowledged that the motion based on the verdict form was denied. He said, however, that Crusader strategically dismissed its claim that Cussler was not entitled to the $8.5 million with prejudice after the jury's verdict. As a result of the dismissal, says Fields, Cussler is entitled to the money. The court also has not decided who is the prevailing party, Fields said.

Both parties are spinning the outcome of this latest motion as a victory. So, what have the attorneys' fees in this case come to? If this drags on much longer, the attorneys' fees could outstrip the amount of any verdict.

---