Heidi Klum sued over Runway
Sarah Hall

NEW YORK—Things are getting catty on the set of Project Runway. Writer Joel Lamontagne has sued the producers and sponsors of the Emmy-nominated series in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming that the fashion-forward reality show is based on a rejected script he penned two years ago. In his court documents, Lamontagne claims he wrote a script titled America’s Fashion Designer Search and submitted it to producer Tony Yates at Project Greenlight Productions in 2003. He claims he was told the company was too busy to proceed at that time.
However, when Project Runway began airing on Bravo in December 2004 with the comely Heidi Klum serving as host, Lamontagne noticed numerous similarities between the show and his own concept, which he had registered with the Writers Guild of America in January 2003. “We think they took this idea, promoted it and it’s been a big success,” Ivan Schwartz, Lamontagne’s lawyer, told the Associated Press. The competition features budding designers who compete in weekly fashion challenges for a chance at making it big in the business.