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Sandy Veith, who wrote for shows including "The Jeffersons" and "Maude" and won a court judgement for his creation of "Northern Exposure," died Jan. 4 in Miami, Fla, after a brief hospitalization for kidney and liver problems. He was 60.

Veith had a long career as a comedy producer and writer, serving as co-exec producer on "Starting Now," exec producer on "He's the Mayor," exec producer on "Never Again" and producer/writer on "Love, Sidney." He also wrote epsiodes of "Diff'rent Strokes," "One in a Million" and "A Year at the Top."

A 1990s court judgment found that he was entitled to credit and compensation from Universal as the creator of "Northern Exposure," which was based on a treatment and script he wrote for a series called "Colletta."

He is survived by his wife Kathy, a stepson and a stepdaughter.