‘Judge Judy’ $47 million salary case closed but second lawsuit looms
Fight over profits from the hit daytime series has quietly been settled behind closed doors.
It was the type of case perfect for an episode of "Judge Judy" -- except television's favorite judge was smack in the middle of it. But as of Thursday, the lawsuit involving her salary and profits has quietly gone away.
A settlement was reached in a suit filed by talent agency Rebel Entertainment Partners against a unit of CBS for allegedly missing contractual payments from the show in 2016. Rebel claimed that Judge Judy Sheindlin's $47 million salary was improperly being deducted as an expense which in turn denied Rebel with its cut of the profits from her show and a spinoff daytime court show, "Hot Bench."
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Attorney Sean Hardy for Rebel told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rupert Byrdsong that the case was settled at mediation and that the settlement agreement was signed.
No further details surrounding the settlement were made public and Rebel did not immediately respond to a request for comment from FOX Business.
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The settlement of this case doesn't end the legal entanglements for Judge Judy and her popular show.
A second fight over profits alleges that "Judge Judy" co-creators have been gypped out of millions when Sheindlin sold the library of her series to CBS. The thousands of episodes in that library would have incredible value in today's streaming world.
Kaye Switzer and the heirs of her co-creator Sandi Spreckman -- who passed away in 2009 -- sued CBS and Sheindlin in January 2018. While Sheindlin reportedly acquired the library during a 2015 negotiation in return for producing more episodes of her series, CBS reportedly paid $95 million to buy it back. CBS, which has since merged with Viacom, now says there was never a sale or transfer of rights.