Skater Oksana Baiul Goes After NBC Sports

LOS ANGELES (NC) - Olympic gold medalist Oksana Baiul sued NBC Sports and others this week, in two lawsuits demanding a total of $20 million for use of her performances and life story.

Baiul, 37, is a frequent flyer in courts, having filed numerous lawsuits since 2012, all seeking significant damages. The World Champion figure skater in 2003 and Olympic gold medalist in 2004, Baiul was the first athlete in any sport to win Olympic gold representing the independent country of Ukraine.

Both of her new lawsuits were filed Thursday in Superior Court. Her case against NBC is the Top Download today for Courthouse News.

This case alleges that NBC Sports, On Ice Inc. and promoter Barry Mendelson used footage of Baiul's 1994 performance without permission in a made for TV film, "Nutcracker on Ice."

She claims she never received royalties for it. She demands an accounting and $10 million in damages for unjust enrichment based on fraud or mistake, and conversion.

She demands another $10 million from Sonar Entertainment, successor in interest to RHI Entertainment; and Crown Media Holdings and Hallmark Channels. She claims they breached a 1994 contract for use of her life story.

She claims RHI Entertainment promised her 30 percent of gross revenue from the film "A Promise Kept: The Oksana Baiul Story," in which she starred.

She seeks an accounting and damages for fraud and breach of contract.

She is represented in both cases by Peter Hoffman, of Los Angeles.

Baiul sued NBC Universal and Sonar Entertainment together in New York County Supreme Court in 2013, demanding $9.5 million; the William Morris Agency and others, also in New York in 2013, demanding $56 million; and demanded another $4 million in a defamation claim, also in New York.

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