Universal proves itself stronger than 'Hercules'

By Eriq Gardner

Even Hercules himself couldn't get a court to look into alleged Hollywood accounting.

After nearly five years of litigation, the battle between Kevin Sorbo, star of the "Hercules" television show, and Universal, has seemingly ended. The California Court of Appeal last month affirmed a lower court's judgment dismissing Sorbo's claims that Universal owed him an 8% profit participation from nearly $200 million in charges deducted in error from the series' gross receipts. Sorbo also claimed that he was entitled to a $5 million advance payment against future profits thanks to a "favored nation clause" in his agreement.

According to the complaint, Sorbo suffered an aneurism and strokes thanks to the role's physical demands and was persuaded to continue through the final seasons by a generous financial package.

But the appeals court accepted Universal's submitted evidence about the deductions and ruled that it wasn't an issue of material fact for a trial. Here's the decision.

Universal was represented by Gail Title and a team at Katten Muchin Rosenman. Sorbo was represented by Lavely & Singer.