Missouri fans of the film franchise “The Crow” may have heard that a breach of contract lawsuit is underway regarding the films. Producer Jeff Most says that he has not received any payments or earning statements in the last four years despite his involvement in the first four films and the television series. Most says that based on his agreement, he is supposed to receive a portion of the gross receipts from the second, third and fourth movies and a portion of merchandising and net profit from the TV show.
Most also claims that he had the right of first negotiation for a seven-year period following the fourth film. However, he was not involved in the production when reports of a fifth film surfaced in 2011 even though he was listed as the producer in some of those reports.
He originally filed a lawsuit in 2013. However, the lawsuit was dismissed in 2014 when the parties made a tolling agreement. The new lawsuit was filed on April 25.
Breach of contract disputes are quite common in other industries as well. For example, there may be a dispute in a construction project over issues such as delays or substandard work. The first step in preventing a contract dispute is writing agreements that are not legally ambiguous, and a company may want to work with an attorney to produce such a document. However, writing an effective contract still does not mean that another party will never violate its terms, and if this occurs, it may still be necessary to go to court to have the contract enforced.
Source: Hollywood Reporter, “‘The Crow’ Producer Revives Breach of Contract Lawsuit,” Ashley Cullins, April 25, 2016
