Couple Blames "CSI" For Failing Business

Claim Writer Created Shady Characters Based On Them As Revenge For Bad Real Estate Deal

(AP)  A couple have sued a writer for the CBS show "CSI," claiming two shady characters on the show were named after them in revenge for a real estate deal gone bad.

Real estate agents Melinda and Scott Tamkin on Friday sued writer and producer Sarah Goldfinger for defamation and invasion-of-privacy. They are seeking $6 million in damages, alleging the show hurt their real estate business.

Calls to Goldfinger and CBS were not immediately returned.

The Tamkins represented the owners of a Los Angeles home that Goldfinger wanted to buy in 2005, according to the lawsuit. Goldfinger pulled out when the sale was in escrow, but there was no indication of any animosity at the time.

The "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" show set in Las Vegas featured a real estate agent named Melinda, who dies under mysterious circumstances, and her husband Scott, a mortgage broker who watches pornography, drinks and is suspected of killing his wife, according to the suit.

The characters had the last name Tamkin in an original screenplay and Goldfinger helped cast actors who looked like the Tamkins, according to the lawsuit. The Tamkins claim the characters' last name was changed to Tucker at the last minute, which they said was evidence Goldfinger borrowed details from their lives.

Anthony Glassman, the Tamkins' attorney, said potential clients looking for their real estate company could have been deterred from contacting them because of the episode descriptions that were online for months before the program aired.

[dragyn30]

I guess they did not realize the Real Estate market was in the dumper???

I guess they need to make their money somehow, might as well sue someone for it!!!

Low lifes - go get real jobs!!

[Meg003]

If the Tamkins are still both living and they didn't wind up on the autopsy table, what is there to actually complain about?
Posted by fleabag75


If you have neither good reputation nor social standing I can see why this would remain incomprehensible to you. I almost envy you for that. I have to watch my step; it would seem that you have nothing to lose. That is a great deal of freedom.

On the other hand, if you have found success without the usual responsibilities, you are a fortunate/clever person indeed.

[fleabag75]

If the Tamkins are still both living and they didn't wind up on the autopsy table, what is there to actually complain about?

[aka_KJB]

Okay, while we're all (probably deservedly) making fun of the couple suing the writer, we are missing the point just a bit. It is not only possible but in some quarters standard practice to use ones position to extract some sort of revenge on someone if you think they deserve it. Politicians do it all the time. So do cops, bankers, journalists and just about everyone else. You use what you have available to you and it wouldn't be the first time someone who had ready access to a popular television program used it to get back at someone. The 'golden years' of television are filled with just these kind of stories, which is what led to network legal departments who usually run checks on character names to make sure they won't get into just this kind of trouble. And using the names or a couple who just happened to be real estate agents as, uhm, real estate agents in an episode of her show does kind of prove that she did it on purpose. Especially if they intentionally cast actors who looked like the real people and used their real names in the script pretty much all the way up to the final shooting script. 6 million seems like a lot but if this had been "Eleventh Hour", it would have been for $20 bucks, an apology and some In & Out Burger gift certificates. You have a hit show, they ask for the real money. That's just the way it is.

[Meg003]

Okay, let me try to present my side again. You know, the one that had people LOLOLOLOL.

This couple was in real estate. It is not uncommon to search for a realtor by googling the name, especially if the name is uncommon, like Tamkin. A prospective buyer or seller googles Scott and Melinda Tamkin and gets several hits mentioning murder and porn. Do you people really think that they might not consider another agent? I do not find that a stretch at all.

As for the amount, it seems reasonable in a market with high prices. One sale of a $2,000,000 profit at 6% commission would bring in $120,000. In some locations, a two million dollar sale is low-end real estate.

And properties are selling at some price, so even at foreclosure prices one multimillion dollar sale brings in a lot of income. Multiply that by 15 sales over a period of time, and you'll begin to see why many successful real estate agents have mansions and expensive cars.

[voxpopulus]

How likely is it that anyone will be clever enough to have made enough money to buy expensive real estate and dumb enough to think CSI is a documentary?

[voxpopulus]

Morons. I had no idea who these losers were until they filed the law suit.

[rsmik]

Sounds like a bunch of whiny spoiled babies with grand delusions of how to get even with other whiny spoiled babies that they don't like anymore.

[eroosevelt08]

Well, any idiot can file a lawsuit.

[o2bewealthy]

You know what they say" "There's no such thing as bad publicity," and it was Oscar Wilde who uttered the immortal words: "There is only one thing worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." I suspect their business is slow because they are bad businesspeople looking for a scapegoat.

[hamiltongrad]

Everything written is based upon human experiences, so what ?

[carolhill814]

If all of this is true I don't remember this case they should sue because it could hurt their business on the other hand if it not true they should throw out the suit.

[rushlimpdrug]

That's it !

After reading this article,
I will not buy a $35 million dollar home from this couple.

I will however buy that Geo Metro.

Is real estate booming again?

[linfinster]

If what they claim is true, I think they have something here ... but loss of business ... doubtful. And 6 million?? Laughable.

[Meg003]

" That's what they alleged, right? It's nonsense. These people are just trying to make a fast buck. I bet they would sue for their dry cleaning as well. Maybe they're just plain creepy and so inspirational in that way."
Posted by vielmann


Do your homework by reading other sources instead of assuming. They have proof of the original characters' names because the names were used in online advertisements of the episode. The show changed the names and removed references to Tamkin only after they complained. The also have documentation of the casting calls in which Tamkin was used.

You might find this to be very different if YOU worked in a public field and found that a search for YOUR name turned up a descriiption of a porn-loving wife killer.

[1notrub11]

If they can't come up with any potential customers who are willing to admit they were choice for real estate services waas affected by this episode, this law suit is dead.
Posted by gravyboat45

agreed, they are looking for a settlement no doubt

[dwilson59]

You got to love Lawyers

[endrepubs]

If anything, the show CSI would bring more business to these brokers. Remember, if you can't be famous, the next best thing to be in America is 'infamous'. Everyone who achieve fame of any kind usually profit from it. Does this couple realize how hard it is to get your name 'out there'?

[vielmann]

Goldfinger named her characters the same as the realtors and even hired actors that look like the realtors, pretty clear what her intentions were. Hope you win people, nail her to the wall.
Posted by PVperson2 at 8:40 AM : May 23, 2009

That's what they alleged, right? It's nonsense. These people are just trying to make a fast buck. I bet they would sue for their dry cleaning as well. Maybe they're just plain creepy and so inspirational in that way.

[fawnaleah]

Well the economy has tanked and these people are blaming the Writer on their failing buisness PLEASE give me a break, and get a clue...Writiers use their experiences in life to do their job, and yes they sometimes make sure the realisim is there. But to blame them on the lack of income you people are just money grubbing because you can't live up to the lifestyle you are used too. I hope the judge laughs in your face