Keith Olbermann sues Current TV for breach of contract
Al Gore and his buddies at Current TV are in an unprecedented positiontheyre the first people in history to be sued by a $10 million chandelier.
April 06, 2012 at 06:28 AM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.com
Al Gore and his buddies at Current TV are in an unprecedented position—they're the first people in history to be sued by a $10 million chandelier.
Yesterday, Keith Olbermann—aka the $10 million chandelier—filed suit against the owners of the small progressive public affairs channel, claiming they breached his contract when they fired him last week. He says the network, which reportedly gave him a five-year, $50 million contract, owes him between $50 million and $70 million in cash and equity compensation.
Immediately after his firing, the left-wing commentator admitted he knew he had made a mistake soon after he left MSNBC to join Current TV, but stayed onboard out of loyalty to his viewers.
In a statement to entertainment network E! News, Current TV said that Olbermann was fired for “serial, material breaches of contract, including the failure to show up at work, sabotaging the network and attacking Current and its executives. …We will be happy to engage on the law and its facts in the appropriate form.”
In his suit, Olbermann calls his dismissal “the latest in a series of increasingly erratic and unprofessional actions undertaken by Current's senior management.”
So what's a homeless $10 million chandelier to do? The New York Daily News has a few suggestions for Olbermann.
Al Gore and his buddies at Current TV are in an unprecedented position—they're the first people in history to be sued by a $10 million chandelier.
Yesterday, Keith Olbermann—aka the $10 million chandelier—filed suit against the owners of the small progressive public affairs channel, claiming they breached his contract when they fired him last week. He says the network, which reportedly gave him a five-year, $50 million contract, owes him between $50 million and $70 million in cash and equity compensation.
Immediately after his firing, the left-wing commentator admitted he knew he had made a mistake soon after he left MSNBC to join Current TV, but stayed onboard out of loyalty to his viewers.
In a statement to entertainment network E! News, Current TV said that Olbermann was fired for “serial, material breaches of contract, including the failure to show up at work, sabotaging the network and attacking Current and its executives. …We will be happy to engage on the law and its facts in the appropriate form.”
In his suit, Olbermann calls his dismissal “the latest in a series of increasingly erratic and unprofessional actions undertaken by Current's senior management.”
So what's a homeless $10 million chandelier to do? The
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Coinbase Hit With Antitrust Suit That Seeks to Change How Crypto Exchanges Operate
3 minute read
Baker Botts' Biopharma Client Sues Former In-House Attorney, Others Alleging Extortion Scheme
Trending Stories
- 1Restoring Trust in the Courts Starts in New York
- 2'Pull Back the Curtain': Ex-NFL Players Seek Discovery in Lawsuit Over League's Disability Plan
- 3Tensions Run High at Final Hearing Before Manhattan Congestion Pricing Takes Effect
- 4Improper Removal to Fed. Court Leads to $100K Bill for Blue Cross Blue Shield
- 5Michael Halpern, Beloved Key West Attorney, Dies at 72
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
