CAA Taken To Court By Dan Aloni For $5M; Agent Says Owed Bonuses & Vacation Pay
Dan Aloni filed a petition today against his former employer CAA for more than $5 million claiming labor code violations and that the agency is refusing to participate in arbitration. Aloni was fired from CAA on February 29 after being with the agency for seven years. “Mr. Aloni has various claims against CAA arising out of its wrongful termination of his employment, including but not limited to CAA’s refusal to pay Mr. Aloni bonuses related to his performance, CAA’s refusal to pay Mr. Aloni a bonus related to CAA ‘s transaction with TPG Capital, and CAA’s refusal to pay Mr. Aloni the value of his unused vacation time,” the court filing says (read it here). CAA is in violation of the binding arbitration clauses that are part of the 2008 employment agreement Aloni had with the agency, Aloni says. He has asked for a hearing for November 15 to get a court order compelling arbitration. The court filing today claims that during an October 22, 2012 call with CAA arranged by the American Arbitration Association, the agency’s lawyer said “it would arbitrate only the claim for Mr. Aloni’s unpaid bonus for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2011, and would not arbitrate Mr. Aloni’s claims unless it was compelled to do so by a court.” That pronouncement was the catalyst for today’s action.
Since Aloni joined WME as a partner in March, he has brought over all his big clients including Chris Nolan, David Dobkin, Mike Myers, Jay Roach, David Goyer, Tom Shadyac, Michel Gondry, Raja Gosnell, Mandeville Films, Jonathan Mostow, Dean Parisot, Neal Moritz, Andy Fleming, David and Ian Purchase, John Crowley and John Carney. CAA did not respond to requests for comment.
Aloni is represented by Patricia Glaser, Kerry Garvis Wright and Alexander Kargher of the LA firm Glaser Weil Fink Jacobs Howard Avchen & Shapiro.
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