Warner Bros Sues CBS Over "Men"

According to the suit filed Tuesday in L.A. County Superior Court, W.B. claims CBS owes it more than $49 million. The suit claims W.B. and CBS struck a deal -- that CBS would pay a lower-than-marketplace fee in seasons 5 and 6, but if the show was a hit CBS would reimburse W.B. for certain losses.

Here's the deal. According to the suit, CBS paid W.B. a fee of $750,000 per episode in the first season, with modest increases thereafter. That amount wasn't enough to cover the cost of production. W.B. claims the average cost per episode for the first season was $1,219,894. W.B. claims during the first four seasons it incurred a loss of $61,097,418.

W.B. alleges CBS was obligated to reimburse the company for some or all of the deficits, depending on the national ranking of the show. W.B. claims in spite of the fact that the show is a success and currently in season 6, CBS refuses to pay more than $49,000,000 it's owed.