Fox Business in dispute over reality series

Fox Business Network and reality TV heavyweight Leftfield Pictures have exchanged a new round of fire in the contract dispute that sparked a lawsuit earlier this year, reports Cynthia Littleton of Variety.

Littleton reports, “Fox Business Network recently filed a response to Leftfield’s lawsuit, filed in July in New York Supreme Court, that accused Leftfield of misrepresenting the identities of participants in a reality show about estate sale managers, among other claims. FBN ordered 26 episodes of the series in July 2014 but pulled out of the project three months later.

“Leftfield, which was acquired last year by the U.K.’s ITV Studios, accused FBN of ‘distorting and omitting key facts’ and engaging in personal attacks on Leftfield CEO Brent Montgomery and general counsel Chris Silvestri. Silvestri previously worked for FBN sibling Fox News for 17 years.

“FBN’s legal response ‘is a desperate attempt to distort and misrepresent the facts, and to attempt to damage and bully Leftfield through derogatory representations,’ Leftfield said. ‘Leftfield has no intention of backing down and intends to file a response to Fox News’ counterclaim next week. Leftfield remains confident that as this case plays out in the appropriate legal channels, Leftfield’s position will be vindicated. Simply put, Fox News doesn’t want to pay the bill.'”

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