Another Lawsuit over Show for Osbournes

By Stephen M. Silverman

Wednesday August 07, 2002 01:00 PM EDT

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Another case for the Osbournes' lawyers: Entertainment network Threshold.tv filed a breach-of-contract suit against Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming proprietary rights for the runaway hit MTV reality series "The Osbournes," says the Hollywood Reporter. (On July 26, it was reported that L.A.-based producer Gary Binkow had sued the Osbournes, claiming that they stole the idea for their series from him.) In this latest legal action, Threshold claims that the Osbournes' deal with MTV violates a December 2000 agreement that the company had with Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne's company, Monowise, and asks that Threshold be declared the owner of MTV's series. In legal papers, Threshold, headed by CEO Larry Kasanoff, claims that the idea for a show "focusing on the attractive aspects of Osbourne family life and placing cameras in the Osbourne house" was pitched to the Osbournes as early as January 2000. (Among Threshold's credits is the 1995 film "Mortal Kombat," based on the video game. Kasanoff is listed as a producer on the film.) Threshold alleges that after signing the December 2000 deal, "Threshold described to Monowise and Sharon Osbourne the live-action family-based TV show that later became the MTV hit." MTV declined comment on the suit, says the Reporter, and there is no word on the matter from Ozzy Osbourne, 53, who is currently touring with Ozzfest, or from Sharon Osbourne, 49, who is convalescing at an undisclosed location from her first chemotherapy treatments for colon cancer.