Gabrielle Union Sues BET Over 'Being Mary Jane' Contract

— -- Gabrielle Union is suing BET, the network that produces her hit show "Being Mary Jane," for breach of contract.

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, the actress claimed the network is trying to squeeze more work out of her by taping 20 episodes of the series back-to-back to "cram all of the episodes into a single season in order to fraudulently extend the term of Ms. Union's contract."

In a statement released Wednesday, BET wrote, "While we hold Gabrielle Union in the highest esteem, we feel strongly that we are contractually well within our rights and are committed to reaching a swift and positive resolution in this matter."

According to the lawsuit, which ABC News has obtained, Union and BET worked out an agreement when she signed on to the show that she would only have to appear in 13 episodes per season, since doing more "would make it difficult for her to continue to work in motion pictures." The lawsuit also states that BET's corporate policy required her performer agreement to include a provision allowing for a minimum of 10 episodes and a maximum of 26.

Under her contract, Union is set to receive $150,000 per episode for season 4 and $165,000 per episode for season 5.

But her attorney Marty Singer said in the suit that BET is trying to combine seasons 4 and 5 to avoid having to pay for her contractual raise or extend its option to hire her for another year.

"We filed this lawsuit because of BET’s outrageous conduct toward its No. 1 star on its highest-rated show," Singer told ABC News in a statement.