IDK about this lawsuit, but he has "massaged" others ideas before. Pet Semetary, comes to mind first. Poe wrote "The Monkey's Paw", which is basically the same story at its core. Koontz regularly utilized, King ideas in his books as did McCammon once or twice. I guess what I'm getting at is where do you draw the line between rip off and inspiration? That's awfully subjective, no?