Cussler make Sahara legal dispute payments
3rd August 2009
Bestselling author Clive Cussler has made a $20.9 million (GPB 12.35 million) payment after losing a legal battle with business tycoon Philip Anschutz.
The dispute had initially been instigated by Mr Cussler and concerned the use of his book Sahara as the basis for a film of the same name.
He claimed that Mr Anschutz, who produced the multi-million dollar adaptation through his company Bristol Bay Productions, had failed to honour his contractual rights to approval of the screenplay.
A final $8.1 million payment has been received from the author, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Speaking to the newspaper, Mr Aschutz's attorney Marvin Putnam said: 'This is the culmination of a very long process where Anschutz and his company made sure their rights were vindicated.'
Philip Anschutz was ranked number 89 on the Forbes rich list in 2006.
The Denver-born entrepreneur made his fortune through investments. Successful motion pictures by his company Bristol Bay Productions include Ray and The Chronicles of Narnia.