Chuck Norris settles 'Walker, Texas Ranger' pay lawsuit with CBS
Star's contract stipulated he should get 23% of 'any, and all' profits from show: lawsuit
Chuck Norris has settled a lawsuit — which alleged that he was owed more than $30 million in profits from his time on "Walker, Texas Ranger" — against CBS.
"The parties have resolved the dispute," a spokesperson for CBS told FOX Business on Wednesday, regarding the settlement for an undisclosed amount.
On Friday, Norris’ lawyer requested a dismissal of the lawsuit "without prejudice" in Los Angeles Superior Court, which named Norris' production company, Top Kick Productions, as a plaintiff and CBS as the defendant, according to documents obtained by FOX Business.
The lawsuit, filed in 2018, said Norris’ "Walker, Texas Ranger" contract stipulated that he be paid 23% of "any, and all" profits from the show but that CBS was "self-dealing" and distributed the show in a way to avoid paying his production company, "cost[ing] Top Kick millions of dollars in past and future license fees," according to The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline.
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Chuck Norris has settled a "Walker, Texas Ranger" lawsuit with CBS. (CBS via Getty Images / File / Getty Images)
Specifically, the lawsuit reportedly said CBS hadn’t reported its profits for streaming revenue since 2004 and had avoided a lucrative TV licensing contract for an exclusive one with a network it owns.
The "Defendants have consciously sought to market, sell and distribute ‘Walker' in ways that are designed to collect significant fees and revenues from the ongoing exploitation of ‘Walker’ but without having to honor or pay Top Kick, and to instead materially breach the 23 Percent Profit Clause," the lawsuit reportedly said.
Sony Pictures TV was originally named in the lawsuit but was removed from it last year. CBS has denied the allegations outlined in the lawsuit.
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Chuck Norris starred as Cordell Walker on "Walker, Texas Ranger" from 1993-2001. (CBS Photo Archive / Getty Images / File / Getty Images)
Norris starred as Texas Ranger Cordell Walker on the CBS action drama from 1993 until it ended in 2001.
A reboot of the show called "Walker," starring Jared Padalecki, premiered on The CW in 2021.
The "Walker, Texas Ranger" lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount. (CBS Photo Archive / Getty Images / File / Getty Images)
While Norris isn’t involved in the show, Padalecki told "Good Morning America" the series had Norris' blessing.
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"He did have to give his blessing," Padalecki said. "He helped create the original version, and so he still co-owns it. He didn't have any problem with it, thank goodness, because I don't want to mess with Chuck Norris."