Entertainment

‘Shore’ suit threat dead?

MTV is firing back at a writer Christopher Gambale, who claims the network ripped off his idea for “Jersey Shore.”

MTV attorney Heather Windt calls Gambale’s claim “without merit” in a letter to his attorney, according to a copy of the letter obtained by tmz.com.

“Should your client opt to pursue this matter, please be advised that MTV will vigorously defend the action and when dismissed will pursue all available sanctions, including attorney fees,” Windt wrote.

Gambale has threatened to sue MTV, accusing them of using his outline for something he called “Guidos: A Reality Series” as the template for “Jersey Shore,” MTV’s top-rated show.

” ‘Jersey Shore’ was not the first work to focus on young Italian Americans,” Windt writes. “By way of example only, this theme has been explored in works such as ‘Saturday Night Fever,’ ‘My Cousin Vinny,’ ‘Kiss Me, Guido’ and ‘Growing Up Gotti.’ ”

Windt also says that Gambale’s series pitch, which he claimed to have registered with the Writers Guild of America, “consists of text that was simply cut and pasted off urbandictionary.com . . . “