NC woman sues over 'Monster-in-Law' script

RALEIGH, N.C. -- A North Carolina woman has sued Jennifer Lopez, Jane Fonda and others associated with the making of the 2005 movie "Monster-in-Law," saying the movie was similar to a script she wrote years earlier. The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Thursday that Sheri Gilbert of Wilson filed the copyright lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Raleigh. She and her husband, Willie Gilbert Jr., say they are owed some of the almost $155 million the movie made worldwide. Sheri Gilbert says the movie is similar to a script she wrote in 1998 that was based in part on her own mother-in-law problems. An attorney representing Warner Bros. and 33 other defendants said the "mother-in-law" character is not unusual and has asked that the lawsuit be dismissed. Gilbert said the similarities are more than coincidence. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)