Bill Nye has filed a $37 million lawsuit against Walt Disney over unpaid royalties for his popular program Bill Nye the Science Guy.
In a complaint filed on Thursday, Nye accused Disney and its branches, including ABC and Buena Vista, of breach of contract and fraud, as part of what the lawsuit describes as “an ongoing, deliberate conspiracy to deceive Mr. Nye.” Nye believes he was shorted on over $9 million in profits, which all started with a purported “accounting error.”
CNN Money reports:
The lawsuit claims that Nye, who was owed 16.5% of the show’s profits, became suspicious after Disney-owned Buena Vista demanded he repay a large portion of his 2007 “Science Guy” earnings, citing an “accounting error.”
Nye doubted the company’s bookkeeping. But his efforts to engage the firm in negotiations to resolve the matter were “futile,” according to the lawsuit. Nye claims that Buena Vista stopped making royalty payments in 2008 because of the dispute.
Nye has further accused Disney and company of withholding documents during an audit, which he ordered. He claims that the audit found discrepancies in the company’s revenue and royalty figures.
