David Cassidy Denied Jury Trial In ‘Partridge Family’ Lawsuit Against Sony Pictures Television

David Cassidy of “Partridge Family” fame was denied the opportunity of a jury trial in his lawsuit against Sony Pictures Television for lost wages. The Hollywood Reporter notes the judge in the David Cassidy case that the matter “should be handled by an arbitrator.” The 1970s television star sued Sony last year claiming the former top-rated ABC series paid only a “paltry sum” to Cassidy even though his contract entitled him to 15 percent of net merchandise proceeds from the show and promotional items, according to excerpts from court documents.

In the Sony lawsuit Cassidy claim the “Partridge Family” series garnered more than $500 million from posters, games, magazines and similar items. David Cassidy also claims his employment contract with ABC entitled him to 7.5 percent of the net proceeds from the “exhibition and exploitation of underlying property rights” from the show.

During an interview about the case last year, David Cassidy told CNN he was “optimistic” and “enthusiastic” about the way a jury trial would view his claims and the Sony lawsuit went to court, according to interview excerpts republished by the Hollywood Reporter. “I don’t want to shame and embarrass and humiliate them, but I will if I have to,” Cassidy stated during the interview. While pretending to address the powers-that-be at Sony during the CNN interview Cassidy added, “You owe me a fortune- you want to go to trial, big bad Sony against David Cassidy, go ahead.”

The “Partridge Family” star may not get his day in court with Sony at all unless he wins an appeal of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joseph Kalin’s order to honor the arbitration agreement in the contract Cassidy signed in 1971.