Hornswoggled by Disney? ‘Pirates’ writers take matter to court

Disney may have to walk the plank.

Colorado-based writers A. Lee Alfred II, Ezequiel Martinez Jr. and Tova Laiter are suing the Walt Disney Co., claiming that the screenplay for the film “Pirates of the Caribbean” was stolen from them.

The screenwriters’ attorneys filed the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Denver, The Denver Channel reports.

According to the lawsuit, in 2000 a final draft of a screenplay titled “Pirates of the Caribbean,” authored by the three, was presented to Disney producers. Disney went on to steal several themes from the authors’ work, including the creation of the character Captain Jack Sparrow. These themes were included in what would become a billion-dollar franchise, and the plaintiffs claim they did not receive proper credit or compensation, The Denver Channel reports.

Disney said in a statement to the Denver Channel that the lawsuit is “entirely without merit.”