LEGAL FILE

More on Buchwald Trial: When the second phase of the Buchwald vs. Paramount Pictures trial begins later this year, the studio can be held liable for punitive damages should Buchwald’s attorneys prove impropriety in Paramount’s bookkeeping for “Coming to America.” Superior Court Judge Harvey Schneider added the punitive damages ruling to his original verdict in the case, handed down last month, in which Buchwald and co-plaintiff Alain Bernheim were awarded 19% of the net profits of the Eddie Murphy hit. Paramount maintains that the movie, which has taken in an estimated $350 million, has earned no net profits. Paramount is to begin turning over documents to Buchwald’s auditors during the discovery portion of the accounting phase beginning next month. Attorneys expect to go to trial by early summer.