10 Biggest (And Weirdest) Lawsuits In Star Trek History
4. Roddenberry V Roddenberry
Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry divorced his wife Elaine in 1969, which was around the same time that the Original Series ended. The document was mostly handwritten and in it, Elaine was promised one-half interest in future profit participation from Star Trek. In 1996, after Gene had passed away, Elaine brought a suit against his estate, managed by his widow Majel Barrett, to collect her dues.
She argued that there had been no limitations on what the one-half interest meant and that she was due income from all of the Star Trek movies, merchandising and current series. The Court disagreed that she was due anything from the movies or merchandising, though conceded that she be entitled to revenue from The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, as they were continuations of the Original Series.
However, this decision was overturned by the Court of Appeals, as they found it unlikely that either party had intended this agreement to go beyond the Original Series, which in 1969 was considered a financial failure. Future movies and spin-off shows were unimaginable at that point, so they ruled that Elaine was not due anything.