Actor/director Tyler Perry is facing a $70 million lawsuit over his Good Deeds movie.
Author Terri Strickland alleges the Gone Girl star stole the idea for his film from her book Bad Apples Can Be Good Fruit, after she mailed a copy of the novel to his Atlanta, Georgia office in 2008.
In the lawsuit, Strickland claims she was seeking a production deal for the story, but instead Perry developed the film on his own and did not credit Strickland. The writer goes on to explain her book features a unique plot line, characters and themes which are similar to the movie starring Perry, Gabrielle Union and Thandie Newton.
Strickland tells Bossip.com, "I definitely want to have my day in court. I found out that Tyler Perry himself said he wrote the movie. Hopefully he can answer in a court of law."
In addition to the $70 million in damages, Strickland is also seeking an injunction to bar the film from continuing to be released. Perry has yet to comment on the lawsuit.
This isn't the first time Strickland has sued Perry over the film - in 2012, under the name Terri Donald, she launched a $225,000 copyright infringement lawsuit against the filmmaker, but it was dismissed in August, 2013.
The drama, which stars Perry as a wealthy businessman who meets a struggling single mother, grossed around $35 million at the box office after its February, 2012 release.