TV & VIDEO - Dec. 16, 1987

“Mama’s Family” producer Joe Hamilton filed a $1-million lawsuit Tuesday against the Walt Disney Co., alleging breach of contract over Disney’s plans to produce a program based on the characters currently used by his production company on the series. Also named in the suit, which seeks an injunction to block production of the Disney series, were Dick Clair and Jenna McMahon, creators of the characters. The suit alleges that Clair and McMahon granted Hamilton’s production company the right to use the “Mama’s Family” characters in that series, and later granted rights to Disney to use the characters in a competing television series. A Disney spokesman said the studio would have no comment on the suit.