Ex-'Survivor' Contestant Sues CBS

S A N  F R A N C I S C O, Feb. 6 -- A contestant from the first round ofSurvivor has sued the executive producer of the CBS realityseries, claiming he rigged her early rejection from the island.

In a 14-page lawsuit filed Monday against CBS Corp. andSurvivor creator Mark Burnett, San Francisco attorney StaceyStillman claimed Burnett convinced two fellow contestants to voteher off to protect 72-year-old Rudy Boesch.

Boesch was the only remaining contestant over age 40, andStillman alleges Burnett rigged the vote so the show would appealto an older demographic.

CBS Denies Allegations

CBS denied the allegations and said Burnett would have nocomment.

"We heard about Stacey Stillman's allegations several monthsago," CBS said in a statement. "They had no merit then. They haveno merit now that she has packaged them into a frivolous andgroundless lawsuit."

The show pitted two "tribes" against each other on an islandoff the coast of Borneo. Each week, one of the tribes voted off amember.

Stillman, the third contestant turfed from the island, claimeddamages for alleged fraud, breach of contract and unlawful businesspractices. Stillman asked for restitution for lost prize money,plus $75,000 for punitive damages.

Stillman accuses contestants Dirk Been and Sean Kenniff ofconspiracy.

Kenniff said he didn't feel he was coerced. A spokesman for Beendeclined comment.

Boesch was among the final four of the 16 original contestants.The contest was won by Rhode Island corporate trainer RichardHatch, who received $1 million.