$5 mil lawsuit hits producers, Johnson named as assailant

HOLLYWOOD — Jamie Cardriche, a former star of the UPN series “Malcolm & Eddie,” has filed a $5 million breach of contract lawsuit against the show’s producers for firing him, and further charges producers with negligently hiring someone who had a propensity for violence and threatened to kill him.

In a complaint filed Friday in L.A. Superior Court, Cardriche, who played Tim on the series, asserted he was given a six-year contract in 1996 by Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Columbia TriStar Television Inc. and Montrose Prods., but was fired after the third season allegedly as a result of complaining about the work environment.

The lawsuit claims the producers also hired A. J. Johnson to work on the series, despite allegedly knowing that he had been fired from another UPN show because of his “propensity to commit violent acts.”

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Johnson, who is also named a defendant for assaulting and battering Cardriche, was openly abusive toward the plaintiff for weeks, according to the suit.

The suit claims that during filming of one episode of the series in September 1997, Johnson hit Cardriche in the head with a chair, pointed a gun at him and threatened to kill him.

Reps for Johnson could not be reached for comment. A UPN spokeswoman declined comment.

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