BACKSTAGE SOAP AT MELROSE: Former Melrose Place producer James W. (Chip) Hayes III has filed an $11 million lawsuit against Spelling Television, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Hayes was fired in May 1998 for a lapse in supervisorial judgement, according to a suit filed in Superior Court on Monday. However, a Spelling employee told others that Hayes was fired for going over budget on an episode, the Reporter says. Hayes's lawyer claims that statement is defamatory.