With a flair for the dramatic appropriate for a battle between two talent agencies, United Talent Agency filed its Answer yesterday to the suit brought by Creative Artists Agency over the stunning departure of a dozen agents in March of this year.
The Complaint consisted of seven counts including Interference with Contractual Relations and Breach of Fiduciary Duty and Loyalty. CAA opens the Complaint by describing the actions as “a lawless, midnight raid … launched against CAA in a desperate attempt to steal clients and employees. Months in the making, this illegal and unethical conspiracy has resulted in a number of agents who were under contract to CAA to brazenly and abruptly breach their contractual obligations to CAA….”
UTA’s response was no less florid, describing CAA’s action in filing the suit as “a flailing and desperate attempt to save face …. Unfortunately, CAA filed a Complaint riddled with falsehoods, inconsistencies, unsubstantiated allegations, and glaring omission designed to intentionally mislead the Court.” Fundamentally, however, UTA argues that the contracts upon which CAA attempts to rely are unenforceable because the two key partners, Lesak and Heyman, entered into those written agreements in July of 2005. California has a “7 year rule,” rendering personal service contracts longer than seven years unenforceable. (A recent high-profile invocation of that rule was seen during the heated negotiations of the Modern Family cast contracts several years ago.) CAA, however, will be arguing that the contract extensions entered into in 2009 and 2012 represent new contracts, restarting the 7 year clock. UTA also points out that CAA comes into this litigation with unclean hands, since it poached Lesak and Heyman from CAA in 2005 under somewhat similar circumstances.
A hearing on the matter is scheduled for December 11, 2015.
The Suit: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com//sites/default/files/custom/Scanfile%20%281%29.pdf
The Demurrers: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/custom/Demurrer%20to%20Complaint.pdf
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/custom/CAVIC%20RJN.pdf
Coverage of the initial departure and the “7 year Rule”: https://www.thewrap.com/caa-shakeup-5-agents-exit-to-become-partners-at-uta/
http://variety.com/2015/film/news/behind-the-mass-defection-from-caa-to-uta-that-rocked-hollywood-1201467034/
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/caa-uta-corporate-raiding-ghost-785655
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/modern-family-sues-20th-contract-negotiations-353575