`SNOWBALL' OPENS DISNEY TRIAL.

Byline: Peter Hartlaub Daily News Staff Writer

A feud between two Disney executives got so bitter in the early 1990s that one cooked up a confidential document, called ``Project Snowball,'' to keep the other from receiving his bonus, a lawyer claimed Monday.

So began the trial of a legal dispute started by former studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, who sued for more than $250 million, claiming a spat with Disney CEO Michael Eisner helped keep him from a profit-sharing payoff.

``The evidence will show it's the personal animus of one man,'' Michael Eisner, that kept Katzenberg from his money, plaintiff's lawyer Bert Fields said during opening statements.

He backed the charge by unveiling deal memos, personal notes and a document called ``Project Snowball,'' which he claims Eisner and a handful of executives ``cooked up'' in 1991 to keep Katzenberg from the money he deserved.

Disney General Counsel Louis Meisinger fired back in the afternoon, suggesting that Fields' entire argument should have a disclaimer.

``What you just heard was fiction,'' Meisinger told private judge Paul Breckenridge.

Meisinger said ``Operation Snowball'' was a nickname coined by a Disney accountant, who was keeping track of Katzenberg's contract.

``There is nothing sinister about the company having a project to calculate a very complicated bonus,'' Meisinger said.

At the end of the trial, Breckenridge will decide how much Disney owes Katzenberg, who spent 1984 to 1994 at the studio, churning out hits like ``The Lion King'' while profits soared.

Katzenberg is seeking a 2 percent bonus from profits for Disney productions during his tenure plus future profits from them. Disney claims he forfeited those profits when he left.