Sopranos creator's court victory

Mr Chase (right) described the court case as a nuisance

A US jury has dismissed claims from a man who said he helped create hit TV drama The Sopranos.

Robert Baer claimed his ideas helped creator David Chase create the plot and sought both a credit and payment.

But the jury ruled Baer, a former judge, was not owed anything for help he provided while Chase wrote an early draft for a pilot show.

Mr Chase likened the case to "having a fly buzzing in your bathroom for seven years and now it has been swatted".

"Unfortunately, America loves success. When it happens, some people resent it," Chase said outside the court in New Jersey.

'Moral victory'

"I tried to help him out with his writing but it didn't work out," he added.

Mr Baer claimed a "moral victory" because the jury determined he had performed services for Chase with a reasonable expectation of compensation.

But the jury awarded no money because it found Baer could not prove he had had that expectation.

The jury found Mr Baer may have been hoping Mr Chase would help open doors for him in the entertainment industry.

The Sopranos, which centres on the life of a dysfunctional mob family in New Jersey, ran for eight years on cable channel HBO before coming to an end in June. It was shown by Channel 4 in the UK.

Mr Baer had claimed he arranged meetings for the Mr Chase with New Jersey police and prosecutors in 1995 that sparked ideas for his hit series.

In court papers, Mr Chase called the claims "distorted, petulant and self-aggrandising", saying Mr Baer had only provided a "modest service".

Both Mr Baer and Mr Chase said that the former had declined the latter's offer of payment on three occasions.