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Producer Who Says She Saved Obsession Sues After Allegedly Being Scammed Out of Profits

Darby says Tea Shop cut her out of profits after promising equal producer treatment and a one-third share on films she lead-produced.

  • On Monday, producer Leonora Ann Darby filed a lawsuit in California state court against Tea Shop Productions co-founders James Harris and Mark Lane, alleging they reneged on profit-sharing agreements for the film Obsession.
  • Since joining Tea Shop in 2019, Darby rose to become one of three producers, receiving promises of one-third of net profits on films she lead-produced, yet she claims Harris and Lane treated her as a subordinate.
  • During post-production, Darby 'advocated heavily' to restore director Curry Barker to Obsession, guiding the $750,000 film to a $16.2 million sale and a global box office haul of nearly $510 million.
  • The lawsuit alleges defendants 'repeatedly breached and violated the 2024 agreement' by cutting her out of net profits, paying only an initial $300,000 sum despite her role in the film's success.
  • Darby's legal team at Singh, Singh & Trauben is pursuing a jury trial seeking unspecified damages and a full accounting of other projects like The Surfer and Tornado.
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MSNBCTV NEWS broke the news on Tuesday, September 1, 2026.
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