
Charlie Sheen may have long ago departed on the train to crazy town, but his legal team is entirely sane and his $100 million lawsuit against former boss Chuck Lorre and production company Warner Brothers has some serious legs -- in addition to being wildly entertaining.
"It is the most hilarious lawsuit I have ever seen written on legal paper," says trial attorney Stacy Schneider, who is betting that Lorre and Warner Bros. will seek to settle quickly rather than continue to allow Sheen to publicly embarrass them.
Warner Brothers claims they fired Sheen because of his lack of moral turpitude. But Sheen's lawyer, Marty Singer, quite aptly points out in his 30-page complaint that they had no trouble with Charlie's morals a few months ago when they signed him to a two year extended contract knowing he was in rehab and on the verge of a conviction for holding a knife to his wife's throat in Aspen.
"There is a legitimacy to his claims. They put up with so much bad behavior in the past that they waive their right to pursue a morality clause when it becomes convenient," says attorney Joey Jackson. "He behaved like a horrific person but he wasn't terminated until he said horrible things about Chuck Lorre and that was his First Amendment right."
Schneider adds, "You can't cancel a deal because you decide it's OK for him to abuse drugs yesterday, and today it isn't."
Sheen's legal eagles claim his dismissal had more to do with Lorre's bruised ego than their client's bad behavior and allege that when the actor tried to return to work after his January hospitalization, Lorre pushed production back with a variety of excuses.
In an altruistic turn, Sheen and his attorneys are also demanding "the entire cast and crew get paid for the balance of the season's 24 episodes."
"Once you file a lawsuit, you don't get paid and you don't get hired," Sheen's attorney told The Hollywood Reporter. "Charlie is looking out for the people he's working with. Warner Brothers can try to cast this however they want but the complaint speaks for itself."
The suit also alleges that Sheen's contract includes a "pay or play" clause that guarantees he be paid for 24 episodes per season and all ancillary revenues, regardless of whether he works.
"This lawsuit really rips into the insider industry practices of the producers of this show and could prove that some of Charlie's claims against the network and Lorre are legitimate. there actually may be more than one 'bad boy' in this situation," Schneider says. "Just as Charlie has been trying to sell his version of the truth with his wild media campaign, this lawsuit goes a step further. There are no details left unsaid in these legal papers."
It would be prudent for Warner Brothers and Lorre to settle if their opponent were anyone but Sheen-anyone who doesn't have tiger blood and Adonis DNA (not mentioned in the lawsuit).
"Charlie is the kind of guy who is all or nothing. I don't think he will take less than $100 million," Jackson says.