The creators behind American reality television series "Duck Dynasty" have filed a lawsuit against ITV Studios worth $100 million in the midst of allegations of fraud.
Scott and Deirdre Gurney filed the said lawsuit on Tuesday before the Los Angeles Superior Court. It follows after the couple were ousted from their namesake company, Gurney Productions, last month, according to Fox News.
The British studio had sued the Gurneys, accusing them of engaging in fraud, as well as using the funds of the company for personal expenses and vice versa. They retaliated with the lawsuit, asking for $100 million worth of damages for trying to take control of their production company.
The Gurneys' attorney Michael Weinsten of Lavely & Singer slammed ITV and its appointed board members for their "reprehensible" actions and says his clients refuse to be "intimidated" by the studio's "outrageous, strong-arm tactics" to gain his client's interests in their production company.
The defendants that the couple have named in their lawsuit are ITV Studios executives Brent Montgomery, Andrew Garard and David McGraynor, as well as the studio itself. ITV Studios then accused the couple of trying to "salvage their reputation."
After their termination, producer Craig Armstrong took over as CEO of Gurney Productions and ITV has thrown their full support behind him. ITV was able to obtain a major stake from the production company back in 2012.
Both parties maintained a firm partnership until the Gurneys had a rift with Montgomery, whom they accused of wanting to obtain complete control of their production company. The plaintiffs also insinuated in their lawsuit that he may also had something to do with ITV taking over and terminating them, according to Variety.
Besides damages, the Gurneys are also suing ITV Studios for breach of fiduciary duty and civil extortion, breach of contract, among others. Additionally, they have also requested the court to put out an injunction that would them to regain control of the day-to-day operations of the company, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
