SALON

Tuesday, Oct 2, 2012 12:15 PM UTC

Court trims verdict over ‘Nash Bridges’ profits

By

Topics: From the Wires,

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A divided appellate court on Monday upheld Don Johnson’s multimillion jury award over profits from the series “Nash Bridges” but significantly reduced the amount the actor is eligible to receive.

The California 2nd District Court of Appeal panel voted 2-1 to uphold a verdict that determined the actor was owed millions from the hit series, but the panel cut the amount from $23.2 million down to $15 million.

The appeals court also limited the amount of interest the actor is eligible to receive, erasing an additional award of more than $28 million that a judge granted the actor. Johnson will receive interest on the award, but only an amount calculated from the date of the original verdict in July 2010.

The justices determined that jurors erred when they took into account that Johnson might have earned interest payments while fighting the case, which ended in 2010 with the multimillion verdict. The panel decided to add 5 percent interest to the original $15 million amount they agreed Johnson should receive, according to the opinion released Monday.

Johnson’s award was appealed by the series’ producers and financiers, Rysher Entertainment, 2929 Entertainment and Qualia Capital.

One justice agreed with the companies that Johnson’s verdict should be overturned because his claims were barred by the statute of limitations, but two justices sided with the actor.

“Nash Bridges” aired for six seasons on CBS.

“‘Nash Bridges’ has been my baby since its inception and I’ve fought for years for my interest under our contractual agreement,” Johnson wrote in a statement, adding that he was gratified that the appeals court ruled in his favor. He sued over his stake in the show in February 2009.

Defense attorneys handling the case were not immediately available for comment. The companies could appeal Monday’s ruling to the California Supreme Court.

They argued at trial that the series was costly to produce and that was why Johnson hadn’t been paid more.

Johnson was awarded half of the show’s copyrights at trial, which made him eligible to receive continued profits from the show as long as it remains in syndication. His attorney Mark Holscher also praised the ruling, and a news release from his firm stated that the series is expected to earn more than $50 million in the coming years.

___

Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP .

More ANTHONY McCARTNEY.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • A missing poster hangs on a tree outside the Cleveland home of Amanda Berry Wednesday. Berry and two other women, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus, made a daring escape this week after being held captive for more than a decade.
    Credit: AP/Tony Dejak

  • Elvis Rafael Rodriguez and Emir Yasser Yeje offer their best impression of  Eric B. & Rakim. On Thursday, New York prosecutors identified the pair as members of an international gang that robbed $45 million in a matter of hours by hacking into a database of prepaid debit cards and draining ATM machines around the world.
    Credit: AP

  • New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie walks to a podium during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Technology Enhanced Accelerated Learning Center at Essex County Newark Tech in Newark, N.J., Tuesday. Christie made less flattering headlines this week after undergoing a secret stomach surgery to curb his weight.
    Credit: AP/Julio Cortez

  • Workers stand outside the Tung Hai Sweater Ltd. factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday after a fire broke out in its 11-story building. Eight people were killed in the blaze.
    Credit: AP/Ismail Ferdous

  • Workers rescue a woman trapped for 17 days in the rubble of a garment factory building in Saver, Bangladesh, Friday. The building's collapse was the worst industrial disaster in the country's history, killing more than 1,000 people.
    Credit: AP

  • Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford gives his victory speech Tuesday in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., after winning back his old congressional seat in the state's first district.
    Credit: AP/Rainier Ehrhardt

  • Jodi Arias reacts in Maricopa Country Superior Court Wednesday after being found guilty of first-degree murder in the gruesome killing of her one-time boyfriend, Travis Alexander. Arias has subsequently said she wants the death penalty, claiming she'd "prefer to die sooner than later."
    Credit: AP/The Arizona Republic/Rob Schumacher

  • Ariel Castro stands for his mug shot Thursday at the Cuyahoga County Corrections Center, where he is being held on $8 million bail. The former bus driver is accused of imprisoning three young women and beating them repeatedly over a period of 10 years.
    Credit: AP/Cuyahoga County

  • Charles Ramsey addresses the media Monday after helping rescue three women held captive in Cleveland for more than a decade. Ramsey's hero portraiture has been complicated by revelations of his own domestic violence record.
    Credit: AP/The Plain Dealer/Scott Shaw

  • Michael B. Donley, Secretary of the Air Force, testifies during a Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday. The military branch was rocked this week after its chief sexual assault prevention officer was charged with sexual battery.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: So long, Sookie Stackhouse

Recommendations