Roger Friedman Files $5.2 Million Lawsuit Against Fox News

Updated with complaint below

Fired Fox News entertainment columnist Roger Friedman filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against Fox News, News Corp, 20th Century Fox and Rupert Murdoch in New York State Supreme Court Monday, the Huffington Post has learned.

In the suit, Friedman seeks $5,180,000 in damages for wrongful termination, tortious interference, and libel defamation.

Friedman was fired in April after reviewing a copy of 20th Century Fox blockbuster "Wolverine" that had leaked online, a move seen as an implicit endorsement of piracy.

Friedman, who now writes for the Hollywood Reporter, is expected to allege that the piracy incident was an excuse to fire him, and that News Corp really bowed to pressure from Scientologists, who had been seeking his dismissal over columns critical of Scientology.

Update: In the complaint, seen below, Friedman does not allege that News Corp caved to pressure from Scientologists to fire him. Though the complaint does make reference to Scientology — namely that editor Refet Kaplan suggested that some of the blog backlash to Friedman's column may have been motivated by his columns criticizing Scientology — it never alleges that Scientologists pressured News Corp to fire Friedman. Rather, it claims that the copy of "Wolverine" that Friedman viewed was a copy of the movie that had leaked from Murdoch's control and that Friedman was fired to cover up Murdoch's mistake:

20th Century Fox, NewsCorp and Rupert Murdoch induced and compelled Fox News to terminate Friedman's contract in part to cover up the fact that the version of "Wolverine" that Roger Friedman saw online was actually a copy of the work print of "Wolverine" which had been in the possession and control of Murdoch.

The complaint also references a January 2009 article from the London Times — also owned by News Corp — which gave detailed instructions on how to download pirated movies but which resulted in no penalties for its writers.

The complaint also reveals that Friedman earned $250,000 annually, and is seeking $180,000 for wrongful termination (the remainder of his contract, which was set to expire at the end of this year). He is seeking the additional $5 million for libel defamation.

Full complaint below, embedded via DocStoc:

Roger Friedman Lawsuit -

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Comments

[hankm]

A crime is a crime.

Hope you lose your shirt in lawyer's fees, Rog.

[MoniqueHere]

This is a lawsuit so its about the law. Regardless of you personal opinions on the network a crime has occurred. It is illegal to pirate copyrighted material. It is illegal to accept stolen goods.

The company can not condone the pirating of its content, they have a very legitamate reason for firing the reporter.

On the cover up angle: If I accidently left my wallet some place, you have a legal duty to turn it in to some sort of authority beit the store's lost and found or a police station. It is legally a theft for you to keep it. A recent case of a diamond ring being found and handed to the wrong person because she claimed to own it rather than deny that its hers points of the laws of so called finders keepers.

[LemonMeringue]

Likely the company reporting the ratings is not exactly independent and unbiased.

How can they pretend that a small sample of televisions reflects the country's viewing?

At least polls are repeated with different sample sets which makes them more reliable.

[LemonMeringue]

I hope this exposes every wrong thing Fox did in the last year.

Please, please, no settling out of court.

[jalowe1957]

Go to the fiction segment of your local public library, and more likely than not, you'll find Fox News there.

[ReedYoung]

Fox News:journ­alism::glo­bal warming denial:science

[ReedYoung]

Fox News:journ­alism::Ber­nard Madoff:investment

[ReedYoung]

Fox News:journ­alism::amb­ulance chasers:law

[ricmarc]

this ought to be easy enough to prove. there has got to be some watermark or something that shows who was in possesion of the source material. they know whose copy got onto the interwebs.

[expired]

Who really cares?

[bosha]

you sound just like a conservative.

[AustinTexas1961]

Well, count me in as one of Roger Friedman's supporters. I loved seeing his 411 column every day, even though it was on the Fox website. His reporting and opinions on people in the enterainment business was informative, especially due to the fact that he offered criticism on people all around: including... The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame via Jann Wenner, iconic stars with dubious philanthropic methods and more. I think it is within the realm of possibility that a certain A-list star and his group of followers placed pressure on the Fox powers that be to do away with Roger. He has consistently been one of only a handful of reporters/­columnists willing to shine a bright light on the strange and frightening history and methods of a certain cult ... I mean ... "religion". I applaud his bravery for taking on a powerful star and his followers. He probably made a mistake in that downloading controversy. At the most, Fox News should have suspended him for a while. In any case, I continue to read Roger Friedman's current postings. Mr. Friedman's speaks of the truth. Some of his critics...."can't handle the truth."

[petera63]

Just another easy-money seeker.

[deeppeace]

Well, he got the conservative playbook down. Always the poor, hapless victim. Boo hoo.

[Elbrando]

I like the person below's analogy. Faux News is to journalism what "professional wrestling" is to sports.

[Sanity01]

Yeah, if you want the REAL,objective news you better stick with NBC, ABC,CBS or CNN. They just report and don't spin anything. Unbiased- all of them. Riiiiight!

[LemonMeringue]

BBC and Christian Science Monitor

The only unbiased news sources

[kerrya]

FOX NEWS RECORDS UNPRECEDENTED TOP 10 OUT OF 10 PROGRAMS IN CABLE NEWS FOR 2ND QUARTER... ON PACE TO BE NETWORK'S BEST YEAR EVER...

THE O'REILLY FACTOR 3,191,000
HANNITY 2,345,000
GLENN BECK 2,053,000
ON THE RECORD W/GRETA 1,950,000
SPECIAL REPORT W/BRET BAIER 1,889,000
FOX REPORT/SHEP SMITH 1,783,000
THE O'REILLY FACTOR (RPT) 1,579,000
AMERICA'S NEWSROOM BILL HEMMER & MEGYN KELLY 1,399,000
YOUR WORLD W/NEIL CAVUTO 1,389,000
STUDIO B W/SHEP SMITH 1,169,000

[lmktacwa]

Just because stupid people spend more time in front of the TV watching the cartoon news doesn't make it good Kerrya. Get a clue.

[nini516]

In addition Fox News is carried on all cable networks, whereas some of the other stations such as CNN and MSNBC are carried on premium cable networks. Girlfriend do your homework, and step away from the tv.

[ObamAtomic]

Adulterate Numbers!
Reality,Al Franken won!

[ricmarc]

i watch spongebob, and so do a lot of other people. big whoop.

[IamPhenom]

Notice how the right-wingers brag about their domination in television viewers, radio listeners, etc., yet they also want everyone to believe the media is so liberal?

[Chad1explains]

It is so sad that this guy is trying to get money from his own incompetence. He should not have leaked written about the unfinished Wolverine.