Now 'Project Runway' Models Court Walk--Again

Project RunwayA federal court Tuesday dealt a blow to Lifetime's stymied efforts to begin airing "Project Runway" as soon as possible. The judge turned away Lifetime's attempt to shift the matter from a New York state court that previously had blocked it from offering the hit reality series.

NBC Universal, which has aired the show on Bravo and wants to keep it, had secured an injunction from the state court preventing the Weinstein Co.--the producers--from taking the show to Lifetime.

The injunction came as a temporary measure in a state case that has NBCU suing Weinstein. NBCU claims that Weinstein owed it the opportunity to match the deal it made with Lifetime and hold onto the hit show.

When issuing the injunction, the New York state judge hinted that NBCU indeed should have been given that right of first refusal. That ruling likely prompted Lifetime to try to move the case before a federal judge.

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On Tuesday, NBCU issued a statement saying it was "pleased" that the federal court "has rejected Lifetime's untimely procedural maneuvering to get NBCU's "Project Runway" case out of State Court, where it has always belonged and will now rightfully return."

Lifetime claimed that the matter belonged in federal court due to a copyright dispute, and said Tuesday it will pursue that claim through a separate case.

"While we believe that NBCU's lawsuit should have remained in the federal court, we will press our copyright claims through our independent lawsuit against NBCU in the federal court, and if necessary, in the NBCU suit in New York State court. We look forward to this entire matter being resolved in an expeditious manner and remain hopeful that in the end, Lifetime will be home to 'Project Runway'."

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