"It's over." Those were the words of attorney Russell Alexander Smith (Aug. 27), who represented dramaturg Lynn Thomson in her case against the heirs to Jonathan Larson's estate over the writing of Rent. The trial has officially been settled. Smith would not comment further on the confidential settlement, pursuant to a court order. The heirs have resolved all of Thomson's claims regarding credit, royalties and other issues concerning her role in helping Larson create the hit Broadway musical, Rent.
On Friday, June 19, NY's Second Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed a lower court decision that Lynn Thomson was not an official co-author of the Rent, denying the dramaturg an automatic 16 percent share of the royalties. The decision was handed down by justices Guido Calabresi, Wilfred Feinberg and Myron Bright.
Please see previous Playbill On-Line coverage of the Rent suit for the back-story on this trial.