"Smallville" - Warmer Bros Lawsuit Ended by Settling with Writers

Miles Millar and Alfred Gough had claimed millions of dollars in damages over the way WBTV handled financials on the long-running Superman series.

Although the paperwork hasn't been fully signed by all the parties, an agreement in principle has been reached to end the lawsuit that contended that Warners had robbed the show's profit participants with sweetheart license-fee deals that the studio made with its sister TV networks.

The lawsuit was one of the big ones that tested vertical integration in the entertainment industry. Filed in 2010, the lawsuit contended they were deprived of significant profits when WBTV allegedly undersold the series to affiliates the WB Network and then The CW instead of licensing the series to outside companies.

Originally, the lawsuit also included Tollin/Robbins Productions, but that portion of the lawsuit was similarly settled this past January.

The latest deal comes on the verge of a trial that was to be held in June. The plaintiffs were seeking more than $100 million in damages. Terms of the settlement aren't known.

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