Ray Harter, Richard Kearney and Ed Corno have filed suit in Missouri Federal Court against Walt Disney, claiming the studio stole their idea for the direct-to-home vid films SANTA BUDDIES: THE LEGEND OF SANTA PAWS and THE SEARCH FOR SANTA PAWS, writes The Hollywood Reporter. In their script, SANTA PAWS: THE STORY OF SANTA'S DOG, Santa's dog battles the ice witch, who wields a magic icicle, from destroying the Christmas spirit in boys and girls. In Disney's SANTA BUDDIES, Santa's dog teams with the AIR BUD puppies to stop a melting magical icicle from ruining Christmas.

The screenwriting trio contacted the William Morris Agency's John Ferriter and Barry Jeffery, who took the script to studios and said Disney and other studios were interested, but ultimately they all passed. Now the writers are not only suing Disney for copyright infringement, but the agents and WMA for breach of fiduciary duty and negligence.