Battle Lines Drawn Over ‘Madeline’ Tape : The literary chop shop . . . Lead us not into Temptations . . . Suing to stop the insanity . . . Nudes in the news.

Gather ‘round, boys and girls, it’s story time: “In an old house in Paris, covered with vines, lived 12 little girls in two straight lines. . . . The smallest one was Madeline.”

So begins one of our favorite children’s classics, Ludwig Bemelmans’ “Madeline,” first published in 1939. Now Madeline is the subject of a ‘90s-style legal dispute over distribution of an animated video of the story.

Saul Cooper of Santa Barbara and Pancho Kohner of Los Angeles sued DIC Entertainment in U.S. District Court, alleging breach of contract and copyright infringement. Cooper and Kohner claim in the suit that they purchased the rights to Madeline in 1985 from the author’s widow and daughter, who was the inspiration for the Madeline character.

Cooper and Kohner acknowledge that they sold DIC the television rights a decade ago. But, they claim, they never gave DIC permission to distribute the recently released, feature-length video.

Officials at the Burbank-based company had no comment. But the plaintiffs claim DIC cost them a $750,000 deal with Columbia-TriStar. Their attorney, Steven E. Young, is asking the court to enjoin DIC from further exploiting the Madeline character, and for monetary damages.

In other words, “In a courthouse in Los Angeles, covered with grime, come dozens of lawyers in two straight lines. . . . They’re fighting over ‘Madeline.’ ”

*

CHOP SHOP: Here’s one for the little people: A Superior Court jury in Santa Monica has awarded $25,000 to a writer who accused the producers of the television show “Baywatch” of stealing her script.

According to testimony during the weeklong trial, Boice Nicholls, wife of the show’s longtime caterer, submitted a script called “Waifs of the Wharf” in April 1993. The following fall, four “Baywatch” episodes contained ideas from Nicholls’ script, said her attorney, David Olan.

The show’s lawyers argued that because Nicholls slipped her script to Michelle Berk, wife of one of the show’s writer/producers, it wasn’t actually submitted for consideration. But jurors found that Berk was working on the show’s behalf, and that ideas were, indeed, lifted from Nicholls’ script, including an underwater plane-crash rescue.

Testifying as experts for Nicholls were a number of Hollywood insiders, including former TriStar veep Linda Palmer, who told jurors she believed Nicholls’ script “had been taken and used for parts” in what she compared to “a literary chop shop.”

The award may not have been big, but when was the last time you heard about a neophyte writer prevailing in court over an established production in a script-swiping case?

*

CAN’T GET NEXT TO YOU: That ball of confusion over who rates as a “real” member of the Temptations was resolved last week when a federal judge permanently barred a former singer with the finger-snapping ‘60s soul group from using its name.

U.S. District Court Judge George H. King also ordered Dennis Edwards, who briefly performed with the group after its heyday, to pay $50,000 to Temps leader Otis Williams and the estate of former band member David English.

Edwards had been performing under the billing “The New Temptations,” “The Knew Temptations” and “Dennis Edwards, Lead Singer for the Legendary Temptations.” Instead, the judge ruled, he can call his group “Dennis Edwards and the Temptations Review” or “The Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards.”

Known for their classic hits “My Girl,” and “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” the Temptations have performed for more than 38 years.

*

STOP THE INSANITY: Buzz-cut diet czarina Susan Powter is suing her former spouse for $1 million, alleging he is talking trash about her on the Internet.

She claims in her Los Angeles Superior Court suit that ex-husband Lincoln Apeland is defaming her by claiming on his Web page that she is schizophrenic, manic-depressive and “suffers . . . just about any sort of incurable emotional problem that destroys relationships and/or lives.” He also allegedly branded her as a “severe control-freak.”

Powter is famous for her white crew cut and “Stop the Insanity” diet regimen. Apeland could not be reached. Meanwhile, may we suggest a protein shake?

*

NAKED HOLLYWOOD: Actress Traci Lords is suing a Van Nuys adult film company for allegedly distributing her last--and only legal--X-rated video without her permission. “Traci, I Love You’ was made in 1986, shortly after the former porno nymphet turned 18 and controversy erupted over films she made while underage.

Those films were ordered destroyed, and a court order barred them from being sold in the U.S., but they remained hot black-market items for years afterward. Under terms of a contract with Lords, Caballero Control Corp. was allowed to market the legal video for 10 years.

Although the deal has expired, the suit states, the company continues to sell the tape and CD-ROM versions, according to Lords’ lawyer, Alan Dowling. Meanwhile, Lords hasn’t been paid royalties in about three years, he added.

Born Nora Louise Kuzma, Lords has turned to mainstream acting jobs since leaving the porn industry. She appeared in the film “Blade” this year and on television’s “Melrose Place.”

Speaking of former “MP” vixens, porn and the Internet, a federal judge barred the owner of a Web site called www.nudecelebrity.com from posting nude photos of actress Alyssa Milano and awarded her $230,000. Defendant John Lindgren, who lives in Minnesota, did not respond to Milano’s suit, and U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Lew entered a default judgment in favor of Milano.