The prolific film maker Tyler Perry was hit with a lawsuit on Tuesday over the plot of his most recent movie “Good Deeds”. American author Terri Donald claims Perry has stolen the idea for the plot of his movie from her novel “Bad Apples Can Be Good Fruits”, Reuters informs.

Terri Donald, an American author who also writes under the pseudonym of TLO Red’ness, accused Tyler Perry of stealing the plot of her book “Bad Apples Can Be Good Fruits”. The court papers read that the author found striking similarities between the story of her novel and Perry’s movie “Good Deeds”.

Donald further stated that she has many reasons to believe that the film producer got his inspiration from her 2007 book. She told judges that she had sent a copy of the novel to Perry before the production of the movie began, so he was most likely influenced by the story she wrote.

Donald is asking a $225,000 compensation for damages and additional changes in the script of the movie. Her legal representatives want Tyler’s company to add a credit for Donald’s book at the beginning and at the end of the movie. According to the court papers, the author is supposed to receive an accounting on the movie’s revenue if the judge agrees that Donald’s claims are correct.

“Good Deeds” was released in February and was well-received by the public. According to box office reports, the flick starring Tyler Perry earned more than $35 million since its release. The author believes she is more than entitled to part of the movie’s revenue since she was the one who created the subject of the drama in which a wealthy businessman meets a struggling single mother.  

Neither Perry, nor the reps of Lions Gate Entertainment have made any comments in relation to the lawsuit. They will most likely discuss the matter with the press once the judge decides the date of the first hearing.