NEW YORK (AP) – A lawsuit demanding more than $74,000 is not a good thing.

A consultant who helps pick juries and devise trial tactics has filed a lawsuit against Martha Stewart, saying the domestic diva owes her $74,047 for services provided before Stewart’s trial for lying to federal officials.

Julie Blackman, who operates her own trial strategy consulting firm, says in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Manhattan’s state Supreme Court that she was hired by Stewart lawyer Robert G. Morvillo on July 15, 2003, to help plan Stewart’s defense.

Blackman, who also consulted with the defenses for former Tyco International Ltd. CEO L. Dennis Kozlowski and former Credit Suisse First Boston investment banker Frank Quattrone, says in court papers her services for Stewart included telephone surveys, focus groups, jury questionnaire design and jury selection.

Stewart was sentenced last year to five months in prison and five months of house arrest after she was convicted in March 2004 of lying to authorities about how she decided to sell some 4,000 shares of ImClone Systems Inc. stock in 2001.

Stewart spokeswoman Allyn Magrino said Stewart hadn’t been served with papers regarding this legal matter and couldn’t comment.

Court papers say bills for Blackman’s trial services were sent to Morvillo and all except one submitted Feb. 10, 2004, were paid. Although neither Stewart nor her lawyer objected to the bill, court papers say, Stewart has not paid it.

Blackman’s lawyer, Michael Dowd, said he called Stewart’s office and someone promised to have her call him back. He says she never did.

“My client held me back for more than a year,” Dowd said. “My client went out of her way not to have this wind up in court.”

Dowd said Stewart’s lawyer is not liable for Blackman’s bill because lawyers are allowed to hire experts on their clients’ behalf and the client is obligated to pay.

Kozlowski was convicted in June of grand larceny and other charges related to accusations he stole millions of dollars from his company and manipulated its stock value; he was sentenced to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison.

Quattrone was convicted in May 2004 of federal charges of obstruction of justice and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

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