MIDDLE EARTH LAWSUIT GOES PUBLIC [Author: Lum the Mad]

Inside.com is reporting that papers were filed late last Friday by previously unknown development house MM3D serving Sierra On-Line with a claim of over $10 million in damages for breach of contract involving “Tolkien Online RPG”, and that Sierra tried to force a 50% revenue cut to complete the project.

A Sierra spokesman said the company hadn’t been served with the suit. Despite the filing, she said Sierra is in negotiations with MM3D and declined further comment.

MM3D’s only public sighting to date before this week was as the mysterious employer of industry pundit and (until recently) Happy Puppy columnist Jessica Mulligan. (She was laid off along with most of theglobe.com’s contractors as a result of that company’s financial meltdown.)