‘Suburgatory’ Creator Emily Kapnek Sued By Gotham Group Over Unpaid Commissions
The ABC comedy series’ creator has been hit with a breach-of-contract and fraud suit by her former manager. In a suit filed today in LA Superior Court (read it here), The Gotham Group‘s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein claims that Emily Kapnek stopped paying commissions after the Suburgatory creator signed a two-year overall deal with the series’ producer Warner Bros. TV in April.
Goldsmith-Vein says in the lawsuit that she had managed Kapnek’s career starting in 1999, after having been her agent the year before, and had always received her 10%. But Goldsmith-Vein claims that after Kapnek landed her first overall deal this spring, she “reached a point where she believed she was self-reliant, discarded plaintiffs, and broke her word and the parties’ contract. In direct violation of the Gotham Management Agreement and her promise to plaintiffs, Kapnek has failed to make any further commission payments at all to plaintiffs, whether related to Suburgatory, the Warner Bros Deal or any other matter, and plaintiffs fear that future breaches will be forthcoming.”
The suit seeks compensatory, punitive and exemplary damages and a declaration that Kapnek and her Piece of Pie Productions must pay commissions pursuant to the contract. The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Eric George and Russell Worpert of Browne George Ross in LA.
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