Bones producer and stars Emily Deschanel David Boreanaz awarded $179 million in ruling accusing 21st Century Fox of fraud

The Hollywood Reporter

The Hollywood Reporter's Eriq Gardner reports "the 66-page ruling by arbitrator Peter Lichtman, who concludes Fox executives lied, cheated and committed fraud at the expense of the show’s stars and executive producer Barry Josephson, is about a whole lot more. The nearly $200 million award amounts to the second-largest in television industry history, after a 2011 jury verdict punishing Disney to the tune of $319 million over profit-sharing for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. It will not only put (Rupert) Murdoch’s Fox sale in a whole new light, but may also raise questions about the future viability of Hulu, plus any platform enjoying what’s pejoratively known as 'Hollywood accounting' The ruling also comes as the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has allowed to stand another mega-merger between AT&T and Time Warner, an example of vertical integration between a distributor of content and a producer." 21st Century Fox says it will appeal the ruling. “The ruling by this private arbitrator is categorically wrong on the merits and exceeded his arbitration powers,” said 21st Century Fox in a statement.