Monday, February 11, 2019

Corday Productions Sues 'Days of our Lives' Co-Owner Sony for Breach of Contract and Fraud


Corday Productions filed a breach of contract and fraud complaint filed this morning accusing Sony Pictures Television, as well as its Columbia Pictures and Screen Gems divisions, of deliberating hanging Days of our Lives out to dry in international distribution markets to the advantage of their 100% owned The Young and the Restless. Corday and Sony jointly own Days.

The Corday action also alleges that Sony "treachery" has led to the majority of Days' back seasons left "completely unexploited for over five years" in an attempt to starve off the soap and pump Y&R.

"While the domestic ratings for Days of our Lives have remained largely constant, Sony’s distribution receipts have decreased by over 50%," the 33-page complaint asserts as it seeks of damages of over $20 million and significantly taking back control of the show. "This dramatic decline is directly attributable to a decision at the highest levels of Sony management to eliminate any competition to its own wholly-owned Series The Young and The Restless also distributed by Sony," the suit from the company founded by Days creators Ted Corday and Betty Corday states.

"In the annals of Hollywood television, it is difficult to identify a distributor more guilty of blatant conflict of interest, deceit, perfidy, and abuse of market power," the swashbucklingly phrased filing declares of what it also calls the “audacious” behavior of Sony TV. "The only effective remedies are massive compensatory and punitive damages and immediate termination Sony's exclusive, perpetual distribution agreement."

"Among its myriad illegal acts, the worst financially for Corday is Sony’s failure to market the Series in foreign markets in good faith and compliance with laws prohibiting anticompetitive conduct,” the paperwork proclaims, noting that Days isn’t now licensed in "key foreign territories, including England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Canada, France, Zambia, and South Africa."

The filing slathers it up more by claiming that Sony is tightening its hold of late by "imposing solely on Corday the burden of absorbing the multi-million dollar annual operating deficits due to an inadequate NBC license fee and mandating an inefficient, costly production schedule."

"My client will not sit idly by while Sony Pictures Television seeks to destroy its legendary Days of our Lives,” O’Donnell told Deadline.com today after the complaint was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

“Our complaint exposes Sony’s concerted campaign to abandon selling the 54-year-old celebrated television series in foreign markets while it promotes its own daytime drama The Young and The Restless,” the attorney adds. “We can’t wait to present this damning evidence to a Los Angeles jury. Everyone loves a good David versus Goliath story.”

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