"...injunction barring further broadcasting of "South Beach," which
has been cancelled..."



April 26, 2006 10:10 - (SA)


TV writer suing J Lo
J Lo in trouble? (AP)



New York - A television writer has filed a lawsuit saying Jennifer
Lopez and the UPN network stole his idea for a series based on his
move from Brooklyn to Miami and involvement with the modelling and
nightclub scenes.

Jack Bunick's lawsuit claims South Beach, a TV series executive-
produced by Lopez that debuted on UPN on January 11, stole from a
copyrighted script he wrote in late 1999 for a pilot episode of a
show that would have been calledSouth Beach Miami.

Bunick's script was about two young men from Brooklyn who travel to
South Beach, where one of them quickly gets involved with the club
and modelling scenes, according to the lawsuit, which was filed
earlier this month in federal court in Manhattan.

A recurring theme in his script "is that the main character is from
Brooklyn, New York, and that he is, in many ways, out of his element
in South Beach, Miami," the lawsuit said.

UPN's website says South Beach is about best friends Matt and
Vincent, who "abandon their world as they know it and head to the
alluring paradise of sandy beaches, beautiful people and hot spots in
glamorous South Beach."

Bunick claims his agent spoke to a UPN executive and sent a copy of
his script to her in February 2000 but he never was contacted by the
network. He is seeking monetary damages and an injunction barring
further broadcasting of "South Beach," which has been cancelled.

An e-mail sent on Tuesday to a spokesperson for Lopez and a telephone
call to a spokesperson for UPN were not immediately returned.

The lawsuit, filed April 11, also names CBS Television, Viacom
Networks Inc and Lopez's Nuyorican Productions company.

UPN is a division of CBS Television Stations Group, and CBS Corp. and
UPN were owned by Viacom Inc. before it split into two companies in
2005.