The story was set near Brooklyn in New York

Brooklyn-based Ravi Batra took action against its producers, accusing them of maliciously inflicting emotional, economic and professional injury.

The case said the episode featured a Brooklyn-based lawyer named Ravi Patel with several similarities to Mr Batra.

The show's spokesman said they had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment.

Mr Batra's case names 35 defendants, including the show's creator Dick Wolf and NBC Universal.

The episode, called Floater, focused on the husband of a woman whose body is found in the Hudson River.

When the husband's alibi is investigated, police discover a corruption scandal at the courthouse where the wife worked.

Officers uncover a scandal involving her divorce lawyer and a judge who has heard a suspiciously large number of the lawyer's cases.

Mr Batra's case states that he is well-known in Brooklyn, where there have been legal investigations resulting in arrests for the alleged fixing of matrimonial cases by judges and lawyers, and for the alleged sale of appointments to become a judge.

People who know Mr Batra "were disturbed and distressed by the storyline of criminal conduct attributed to the plaintiff (Mr Batra) by defendants," according to court papers.

NBC Universal's spokesman said: "This episode, like all Law and Order episodes, is fictional."

The show is based around a veteran detective and has proved to be a success for NBC.