SAN FRANCISCO, March 7 (UPI) -- Television producer John Terenzio is suing former U.S. Vice President Al Gore in San Francisco for cutting him out of the sale of Current TV, court papers say.
Gore sold Current TV to al-Jazeera for $500 million in January. But Terenzio claims it was his idea to link the two companies, as he had been seeking ways to create an English-speaking version of al-Jazeera, a news broadcaster with headquarters in Qatar.
Terenzio claims he was responsible for reprogramming China Central Television for U.S. audiences and that he understood how to sway political and public opinion to accept the concept.
In late 2011, court papers say, he created a presentation called "Path to U.S. Distribution" for al-Jazeera to a principal at Colony Capital named Richard Nanula.
Nanula presented the concept to Richard Blum, the husband of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. Blum is on the board of directors at Current TV.
Blum showed the concept to Gore, who at first hated the idea, court papers claim.
At some point, however, Gore had a "change of heart," court papers say. But Terenzio wasn't a participant in the deal after that, even though there was a "mutual understanding that Terenzio would be compensated if Current TV utilized his idea to consummate a sale to al-Jazeera," court papers say.
The Hollywood Reported said Thursday Terenzio is suing Gore for breach of implied agreement, unjust enrichment and "quantum meruit," which means "what one has earned."
Terenzio is seeking $15 million in damages, the Reporter said.
