'Caveman' suit rejected

Jury won't defend theater owners

By CLAUDE BRODESSER

The caveman has defended himself. Ending seven years of legal wrangling in under 20 minutes, a federal jury found late Tuesday that Mitchell Maxwell and Alan Schuster were not entitled to any monies from "Defending the Caveman," a former Broadway laffer by Rob Becker.

Maxwell and Schuster had filed a lawsuit against Becker and his producers, SFX-owned Contemporary Productions Group, in September 1996, after a dispute over a contract that would have placed "Caveman" in the Schuster and Maxwell-owned Union Square Theater. The two had sought $3.5 million in damages, plus 15% of the national tour's gross.

Said Becker, through his attorney Daniel Gildin: "The jury's verdict spoke very eloquently to the merits of their case. I'm just glad to go on with my life."

Reached at his office, Schuster declined comment, referring calls to his attorney.

Maxwell was unavailable for comment.