APPEALS COURT CLEARS PERRY OF PLAGIARISM
TYLER PERRY is breathing a sigh of relief after a U.S. appeals court clea red the filmmaker of accusations he stole the idea for his movie DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN.
Donna West’s case against the actor/screenwriter was dismissed two year s ago (08) after jurors in a Texas court found she did not have enough ev idence to support her claim that Perry lifted material from her play, Fan tasy of a Black Woman, to use in his 2005 blockbuster.
The playwright launched an appeal against the verdict but on Monday (23 Aug10), the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled there was no improper conduct in the trial, according to the Associated Press.
West’s play was performed three times in 1991 in Dallas, and she conten ded Perry could have gained access to the script in 1998 when he presente d his plays at the Dallas Black Academy of Arts and Letters.
Perry’s film took in more than $50 million (=C2=A333 million) at the bo x office.
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