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Frank Dux v.
Jean Claude Van Damme
Van Damme defense continues attack on plaintiff
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 29 (Court TV) -- Jean-Claude Van Damme's defense attorney attacked Frank Dux's case, casting doubt on the plaintiff's claim that Van Damme made a written and audiotaped version of their alleged oral contract on "The Kumite."
Dux says that Van Damme failed to live up to an oral agreement to pay him 2.5 percent of the gross revenue from "The Kumite." Dux also signed a separate deal to write the script for "The Kumite," but the movie was never made because its production company went bankrupt. When Van Damme subsequently starred in a similar movie, "The Quest," Dux did not receive the screenwriting credits and filed suit.
Van Damme's attorney, Martin Singer, had Dux recount the events surrounding the 1994 earthquake that destroyed the safe allegedly containing the written and audiotaped proof of his contract with Van Damme. Singer pointed out that Dux never mentioned the tape and hand-written note in his pre-trial deposition, suggesting that Dux was lying.
Singer grilled Dux on the exact words of the alleged note from Van Damme. He concentrated particularly the definition of gross points and Dux's responsibilities on "The Kumite." Dux insisted that Van Damme considered gross points to be percentages of a film's total box office revenue and that he made a notation that said Dux's payment would come from him. Dux felt that Van Damme, not the production company, was supposed fulfill the alleged promise on the gross points.
But then Singer examined all the aspects of the oral contract that were not settled, suggesting that the agreement was not valid. He noted that the alleged agreement with Van Damme never mentioned when Dux would be paid, what credits he would receive, or the amount of time he was to work on "The Kumite." Dux replied that he and Van Damme had agreed on those details.
Nonetheless, Singer referred to a letter Dux' contract lawyer, Michael Frankel, wrote in which he noted that Dux' duties for "The Kumite" were not noted in any written documents. Dux still maintained that, at Van Damme's request, he kept his lawyer out of their private deal.
During Singer's long cross-examination, he also implied that Dux benefited from his work on "The Kumite" because it got him into the Writers Guild of America. Ironically, Singer note that Dux used the Writers Guild's intervention to attempt to get screenwriting credit, and the $50,000 and the percentage of profits from "The Quest" he felt was owed.
Plaintiff attorney Steven Kramer wanted to begin redirect examination by showing jurors a videotape of Dux performing martial arts feats, but Singer challenged its admissibility. Judge James Kaddo ruled that the tape was inadmissible, saying that Kramer could not lay a proper foundation.
Kramer then had Dux draw a chart of his obligations for "The Kumite." In his contract with Nice Tie Productions, Dux had to write a screenplay.
In his oral contract with Van Damme, Dux writes the story and the treatment, designs costumes for merchandising, makes a list of exotic sights and locations of martial arts schools in China, and provides fight choreography and training.
Kramer's redirect examination of Dux will continue on Friday.
Reported by Court TV's Bryan Lavietes
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