Keeping the lawyers busy: MGM now threaten to sue their own insurance company

13-Sep-2002 • Bond News

A forty year fight over the ownership of James Bond has taken a new turn with a clash between Hollywood studio MGM and its insurance company.

If an out of court settlement is not reached between MGM and American International Specialty Line Insurance, they will return to court in a saga that one judge described as "a story too improbable even for the silver screen."

MGM won one of the longest running copyright wars over the rights to the James Bond character and films last year.

It says its insurer should cover the costs of the case - but Specialty is refusing to pay up.

Now the studio, which fought off claims to the James Bond rights from American writer Kevin McClory and Sony, has hit Specialty and its parent, the giant American International Group, with a lawsuit claiming its $7million legal costs and damages.

The insurer insists that the $50million cover it gave MGM in 1997 was not valid because the studio did not disclose the looming 007 litigation.

MGM says that the insurer had agreed that the forthcoming claims did not have to be disclosed.

A Los Angeles has ordered the two sides to hold settlement talks on Friday. But if they cannot reach agreement, the case will go back to court before the end of the month.

Thanks to `OddJob` for the alert.