In the Court of Appeal of the State of California, Second Appellate District, Division Four, a lawsuit was filed by Hayley Marie Norman against Tracee Ellis Ross and others (Case ID: B316971 consolidated with B326626) on April 23, 2024. The case revolves around Norman's allegations that her idea for a television series was stolen and used without her permission or involvement by the defendants.
Represented by Plonsker Law Group's Michael J. Plonsker and Rex D. Glensy, Norman alleges breach of implied-in-fact contract, breach of confidence, promissory estoppel among other claims against the defendants including Ross, Artists First, Kenya Barris, Brian Dobbins, Touchstone Productions dba ABC Studios (ABC), and Big Breakfast LLC. The defendants represented by Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp's Elaine K. Kim and Yakub Hazzard argue that the sitcom in question is not based on Norman’s ideas but is a spinoff of an existing television series.
Norman seeks justice for her claims which she believes arise from protected activity. She argues that she has been wronged as her ideas were used without her consent leading to damages whose value has not been specified in the document provided. After judgments were entered in favor of Barris, Dobbins, and ABC; the court granted less than 30 percent of the attorney fees requested by defendants.