Any close reader of film credits is familiar with the words, “The persons and events in this motion picture are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons or events is unintentional.” On the other hand, wasn't it philosopher Friedrich Schiller who once remarked, “There's no such thing as chance”?

Behold a 98-page opinion issued last week by a Tennessee federal judge that dismissed a lawsuit from Grammy-winning singer Sam Moore against the Weinstein Co. over the 2008 film, Soul Men, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac.

An Illinois judge has approved an $18.5 million settlement for woman who was critically injured during production of Paramount's Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

This story first appeared in the June 1 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

Attorneys are lining up to represent TV broadcasters in what most believe is an inevitable legal showdown with Dish Network over Auto Hop, the satellite provider's new device that lets subscribers watch programming without commercials.

Sources tell THR that the parent companies of the four major broadcast networks -- Fox Broadcasting, NBCUniversal, ABC/Disney Television Group and CBS Corp. -- have begun consulting with major law firms with the expectation that litigation will be filed against Dish.

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Federal Judge James Otero accepted on Tuesday the proposed order filed by the parties dismissing the federal lawsuit that sought to enjoin the SAG/AFTRA merger referendum, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The move marks the formal end to the litigation.

The long-running saga of Joel Tenenbaum, the Boston student penalized $675,000 for illegally downloading and sharing 31 songs online, has taken a new turn. The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear the Boston University PhD student's constitutional challenge to the penalty, which resulted from a lawsuit filed in 2007 by the RIAA. The move is a win for the music industry in its unending crusade against piracy.

John Travolta's legal team has had a big week. Both masseurs who sued the actor for sexual battery and accused him of lewd conduct have dropped their lawsuits. The accusers then fired their lawyer Okorie Okorocha and hired Gloria Allred.

Amid all the media hoopla around the cases, one question not addressed is whether the actor could sue his accusers (and their lawyer) for malicious prosecution for bringing what Travolta contends were bogus cases. After all, the actor's lead lawyer Marty Singer threatened a malicious prosecution action against the accusers and Okorocha almost immediately after the first $2 million lawsuit was filed.

Fox Television Studios, the showrunner of USA's White Collar and his agents at CAA have settled a lawsuit alleging that the show's former story editor was improperly denied a share of revenue due in part to a conflict of interest.

Travis Romero filed suit last year contending that he came up with the idea for the hit USA crime drama but was cut out of profits by producer Fox TV Studios and creator-showrunner Jeff Eastin. Romero claimed that he and Eastin had been close friends and creative partners for almost 20 years and had conceived of White Collar in Eastin's San Fernando Valley hot tub.

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After the lawsuit was filed, it was amended to expand its scope significantly by alleging that some of Hollywood's top players, including Fox TV Studios executive vp Matt Loze and president David Madden, CAA agents Rob Kenneally and Tom Young, and an attorney at the Jackoway Tyerman firm had allegedly urged and/or helped Eastin to cut out his purported partner from sharing in the fruits of the show's success.

But the parties have reached a settlement, and Eastin's attorney tells The Hollywood Reporter that court papers were being filed Friday to dismiss the case. “The matter has been resolved, and the litigation is dismissed,” says attorney Max Sprecher. Terms of the settlement are being kept private.

The deal comes days after a Los Angeles Superior Court judge issued a tentative ruling significantly limiting the Romero lawsuit. The CAA agents and Fox executives were dismissed from the lawsuit, but a malpractice claim remained against the attorneys, and Romero was granted a chance to refile many of his claims. A trial date had been set for March 2013.

The parties to the federal lawsuit that sought to enjoin the SAG/AFTRA merger referendum – which passed almost two months ago – have filed a settlement agreement to dismiss the case. The move was expected, in light of a letter from plaintiffs’ counsel David Casselman released Wednesday, addressed to SAG-AFTRA’s outside lawyer, Bob Bush.

In an unusual addition to otherwise customary legal language, the agreement includes a statement that “while Plaintiffs still believe in the merits of their assertions, they agree that it is in the best interests of SAG/AFTRA to terminate this litigation and move forward in unity.”

The document also recites that the Plaintiffs “have reflected upon the demonstrated will of the SAG members.” That’s presumably a reference to the results of the referendum, in which a surprisingly high 82 percent of SAG members voted Yes.

A long-running dispute over whether Live Nation and former parent Clear Channel engaged in anticompetitive conduct in the promotion and pricing of live music concerts could be headed for some resolution. On Tuesday, lawyers for the company and a class of nationwide plaintiffs told a California federal court that they were finalizing a global settlement agreement that would lead to the dismissal of various claims that span back a decade.