Carsey-Werner has been freed from a $53 million lawsuit, filed by CBS in January alleging that the company was not pulling its weight in syndicating the sitcom Cybill.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge dismissed the case Friday. CBS claimed that the series, starring Cybill Shepherd, required syndication so it to recoup its losses typically accumulated during a show's primetime, original run. The network alleged that its producer, now Carsey-Werner-Mandabach, was not doing its part to sell the show into syndication, investing more resources into shows that would have garnered them more money.
At this point, Cybill has not secured an off-net run. The judge dismissed the case based on the language of Carsey-Werner's contract with CBS. Apparently if the case had been pushed forward, Carsey-Werner would have asserted that it had done all it could to sell the show. - Susanne Ault
