Dick Clark Seeks Dismissal of Globes Lawsuit

LOS ANGELES: Dick Clark Productions (dcp) has filed a motion with a Los Angeles court seeking the dismissal of a lawsuit filed against the company by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association over the Golden Globe Awards broadcast.

"We have said from the onset that the case has no merit," a spokesperson from dcp said in a statement. "We believe our rights under the contract are clear and are willing to live within its four corners. The HFPA apparently is not."

The statement continues, "When dcp first got involved with the Golden Globes, the program had no television deal whatsoever. Working with the HFPA, dcp nurtured and re-established the brand, and ultimately found a new home on NBC. The Golden Globes now has a strong following and has been successfully re-positioned as one of the leading award shows in the entertainment industry. Now, with that success in hand, the HFPA is trying to unilaterally change the basis on which dcp and the HFPA have done business for almost three decades."

The organizer of the Globes alleges that dcp, which has produced the show for almost 20 years, secretly tried to sign a new broadcast deal with NBC without HFPA’s consent. "DCP acts as though it has unilateral right to license the broadcast rights for the Golden Globe Awards on whatever terms it pleases, without HFPA’s knowledge or authorization," the suit claims. Linda J. Smith of O’Melveny & Myers told the New York Times, “We filed a 68-page complaint that catalogs in great detail how DCP has been trying to steal the HFPA’s most valuable asset."