Ex-Partner Sues Producer James Ivory

(CN) - Director James Ivory shut out a producer who owned an equal interest in Ivory's production company without paying him for work he did on the film "The City of Your Final Destination," Richard Hawley claims in New York County Court. City Productions Inc. and St. Pancras Inc. are the only defendants listed at the top of the complaint, though it refers to "defendant James Ivory" three times in its first page.

Hawley sued Ivory's production company St. Pancras and its predecessor, City Productions, the company that worked on the film and the one in which Hawley says he owned an interest.

Hawley claims that starting in July 2007, Ivory prevented him from acting as a producer by denying him access to anything related to production. Hawley claims he has not been paid for what he contributed though his contract was never terminated.

Ivory removed him as a credited producer on the film, and to get financing to finish production, Ivory transferred all rights and obligations of the film from City Production to St. Pancras, Hawley says.

"Pancras is a company formed for no other reason but to allow stripping of assets to avoid ongoing obligations of City Productions," the complaint states.

Hawley claims that to get financing from a bank, Ivory claimed that Hawley would be paid only $50,000 for his work on the film, "instead of the customary $350,000 contained in plaintiff's customary producer's contract for prior films produced with Merchant Ivory."

Hawley demands his producer's fee and an injunction prohibiting the defendants from transferring or disposing of assets until he gets it.

He is represented by Vivian Drohan with Drohan Lee of New York, N.Y.

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