Court throws out lawsuit over Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee

Jerry Seinfeld has seen off a lawsuit that claimed he stole the idea for Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee.

Former colleague Christian Charles, who directed a pilot episode, has alleged he had first suggested the format to Seinfeld in 2002 - a decade before it debuted.

But Manhattan District judge Alison Nathan said Charles had taken too long to sue, as the statue of limitations was three years and the series launched in 2012.

Seinfeld's lawyer, Orin Snyder called the decision a ‘complete vindication’ and said the suit was ‘nothing but a money-grab seeking to capitalise on the success of the show’.

Charles’s lawyer Peter Skolnik told news agency Reuters he was disappointed in the ruling.

Charles had claimed the show – which now airs on Netflix – had its roots in Seinfeld's 2002 documentary Comedian, which he directed, and included the comedian driving across country.

The director said he pitched Seinfeld a show that year called Two Stupid Guys In A Stupid Car Driving To A Stupid Town,  which the comedian rejected. 

In 2011 Seinfeld contacted him about making a car-based talk show, and Charles shot the pilot. But the comic’s attorneys claimed Seinfeld came up with the idea himself. 

They also argued that the concept of ‘comedians driving in a car to get coffee and engaging in comedic banter’ is probably too simple to be copyrighted anyway.

Indeed, in the UK Red Dwarf star Robert Llewellyn had a very similar series caked Carpool in 2009, filmed on a dashboard GoPro as he chauffeured guests including  Stephen Fry and Professor Brian Cox in his hybrid car.

When Seinfeld launched his show, Llewellyn said he got 'literally thousands of tweets from people going, "Jerry Seinfeld stole your show! Sue him! You’ll be worth millions!"’  But he never did.

Published: 1 Oct 2019