A lawsuit against Showtime over 'George & Tammy,' a TV series about country legends George Jones and Tammy Wynette, was again dismissed by a judge.
, alleged that the Showtime series conveyed a “negative and disparaging portrayal” of the late George Richey, a songwriter and producer to whom Wynette was married for decades after her split from Jones.
last year, he gave Richey’s widow a chance to fix her claims and refile the case. But in a ruling Monday , that same judge dismissed the lawsuit for good. “I dismissed Sheila’s claim once but gave her leave to amend,” Judge Stephanos Bibas wrote Monday. “This time, her claim fares no better, and I now dismiss it .”was well-received by critics — particularly Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain’s respective portrayals of Jones and Wynette. Both were later nominated for Emmy Awards for their performances. Sheila filed her case in January 2024, claiming the series had depicted Richey as a “devious husband” who engaged in physical abuse, facilitated Wynette’s drug addiction, and committed “financial and managerial manipulation” of the late country icon. Accusations about a harmful depiction of a real-world person would typically be filed as a defamation lawsuit, but Sheila didn’t sue Showtime for defamation. And that’s likely because she couldn’t: Under U.S. law, defamation cases can only be filed by living people, not on behalf of the deceased.Instead, Sheila claimed the show indirectly violated a 2019 legal settlement in which Wynette’s daughter, Georgette Jones, promised not to make disparaging statements about Richey. Sincewas a licensed adaptation of Georgette’s 2011 memoir about her parents, the lawsuit alleged that Showtime had been unjustly enriched by Georgette’s decision to violate her agreement with Sheila. But in both last year’s ruling and the new decision on Monday, Judge Bibas said Sheila had failed to meet the strict legal requirements to bring such a case. “Sheila’s claim fails for the same basic reason: A plaintiff bringing an unjust-enrichment claim must have an interest in the benefit that was conferred,” the judge writes. “Yet Sheila has not shown an interest in anything that Showtime got from Georgette.” The ruling echoes what the judge said the first time: That Sheila’s dispute was really with Georgette. In that earlier ruling, he also suggested she had instead sued the network because of the potential for a larger judgment. “Sheila could have sued Georgette for breaking their agreement,” Bibas wrote at the time. “But George & Tammy had been a hit, and Showtime had presumably profited handsomely from Georgette’s breach. So instead of going after Georgette for whatever damages her breach caused, Sheila set out for bigger game.”‘An Opera House With Tattoos’: How Indie Venue LPR Has Brought Its ‘Artistic Vision’ to Greenwich Village for Nearly 20 Years
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Settling the Caleb Williams-George Gervin Iceman Debate Once and for AllComplaints about Caleb Williams trying to take George Gervin's nickname miss the point about what's really going on here.
Read more »
Dave Filoni's New Star Wars Series to Revive Darth Maul, Fulfilling George Lucas' Original VisionA new Disney+ series from Dave Filoni will bring Darth Maul back to life, honoring George Lucas' original plans for the character, which were previously shelved. The series explores Maul's disillusionment with the Galactic Empire and his quest to build a criminal empire.
Read more »
Cowboys' Brian Schottenheimer Offers Ominous George Pickens Contract UpdateDallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer provided an update on wide receiver George Pickens on Monday and it was an ominous sign for the chances of the veteran holding out during the offseason.
Read more »
St. George man quits job to become taste-tester for wife's world-renowned barbecue recipesArianne Brown is a reporter covering southern Utah communities, with a focus on heart-warming stories and local happenings. She has been a reporter for 14 years.
Read more »
Broncos GM George Paton explains how ‘unique’ Jaylen Waddle trade developedParker joined The Denver Post in September 2022 after covering the Broncos for USA Today. Before that, he spent five years covering Nebraska football and athletics for the Lincoln Journal Star. He's a New Glarus, Wisconsin native and a University of Wisconsin graduate.
Read more »
Broncos’ George Paton happy to retain ‘really good’ ILBs Alex Singleton, Justin StrnadParker joined The Denver Post in September 2022 after covering the Broncos for USA Today. Before that, he spent five years covering Nebraska football and athletics for the Lincoln Journal Star. He's a New Glarus, Wisconsin native and a University of Wisconsin graduate.
Read more »